The Kingdom of France

[Galveston Bay]

Flag of the French Royal Navy

Monarch
King Henri V
(OOC:  fictional, created by butterfly effect of changes in timeline)




(picture from Outlander, my spouses favorite show)

As of 1729
Assuming the throne just shy of the age of the age of 20 (b1708) after the death of his father from heart disease, the new King married Jacqueline Marie Madeline Clermont-Crèvecoeus on 7/11/29.   She was 10 weeks pregnant at the time, and the child is due at the end of January 1730


his brother George (b 1714) is the current Dauphin until Henri produces a son
the next heir is the senior cousin, Francis, who became Duke of Lorraine in 1728
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_I,_Holy_Roman_Emperor

previous King 1703-1728
Phillipe VIII (b 2 August 1674) (age 29 at time of his Coronation) Married Louise Benedicte de Bourbon (cadet branch of family, granddaughter of the Great Conde) in 1699.  

Children of Phillipe VIII
Marie, Duchess of Orleans (b 1702)
Charlotte, Duchess of Anjou (b 1706)
Louise, Duchess of Brittany (b 1707)
Henri, DAUPHIN OF FRANCE (b 10.22.1708)
Charlies, Duke of Burgundy (b 2.22.1714)


Siblings (Phillipe VIII)
Anne Marie d'Orléans (27 August 1669 ) married to the Duke of Savoy Victor Amadeus II has  issue.
Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans (13 September 1676 –) married Leopold, Duke of Lorraine and has issue. (Leopold is Regent of Naples)
3 daughters, 1 son, and baby due in February 1714


Queen Mother (widow of Phillipe VII)  Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate, daughter of Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine and Charlotte of Hesse-Kassel, on 16 November 1671 at Châlons. The couple had three children:







Maps of France (links)
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/ward_1912/france_pre_revolution.jpg

Provinces
http://www.emersonkent.com/map_archive/france_1769_1789.htm

The Church
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/France_ecc_1789_1802.jpg

Wine
http://www.cellartours.com/wp-content/uploads/france/wine-maps/france-wine-regions-map.jpg

physical geography
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/France_relief_location_map.jpg

New France
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/9f/15/2d/9f152d150f0176981688188308b43f30.png

Residences of Royal Court
Spring - Fountainebleau Palace (at Fountainebleau, France)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_Fontainebleau#Ch%C3%A2teau_from_Louis_XIII_through_Louis_XVI

Fall and Winter - Palace of Poitiers
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_Poitiers

Summer - Orleans
Modern day hôtel de la Vieille Intendance and hôtel de la Motte-Sanguin

[Galveston Bay]

France 1727
Metropol
Population: 21.824 million (peacetime taxes 5.36 points, wartime taxes 10.72 points)
Ports: Marseilles, Bordeaux, Brest, Lille (4 points)
Financial Center: 1 Bordeaux (represents French East India Company)(1 point)
Craft Centers: Paris 1, Lille 1, Metz 1, Marseilles 1, Bordeaux 1 Lyon 1 (6 points)
Resources: 8 Resources (Paris, Lille, Bordeaux, Marseilles, Lyon, Strasbourg, Nantes, Vichy) (8 points)
Metropol income: 24.36 (29.72 points wartime)

Commercial Shipping
24 merchant flotillas (based out of Marseille, Bordeaux, Brest, Lille, New Orleans, Mobile, Quebec and Martinique)
total: 12 points

Colonial Income 26.05
https://commonwealthe20.rpg-board.net/t61-french-colonial-developments

Total income 62.41

[Galveston Bay]

French military start of 1731

Navy
25 BB2 (6.25), 23 FF (4 )  16 PatRon (1.6), 2 naval yards (1)
13.55 maintenance, 70,000 men

Marseille Fleet
7 BB2 (Formidable, Terrible, Juste, Neptune, Superbe, Robuste, Diligent) 1 PatRon
mission: defense of Marseille, anti piracy patrol French Mediterranean coast

Mobile Fleet
18 BB2, 8 FF
BB2 Bretagne, Gascogne, Normandie, Provence, Lorraine, Canada, Martinique, Acadia, Louisiana, Natal, Hercule, Ajax, Achille, Hector, Roland, Charles Martel, Alexandre, Cesar   FF Tourville, Jean Bart, Assure,  Infedele, Sincere, Favorite, Mercure, Hermes,
mission 1731: Working up fleet with the 8 new BB2s in the Bay of Biscay

Eastern Fleet (Penang)
3 PatRon (escorting merchant shipping to China from Caronville)

Brest Fleet
2 FF Gloire, Amazone, 5 PatRon (patrolling local area)

Southern Fleet (based at Reunion)
3 BB2, 9 FF, 3 PatRon
FF Sirene, Galant, Assure, Constant, Trident, Indien, Africain, Dryade, Griffon, plus 3 PatRon (local patrol) (includes 1 PatRon at Falkland Islands)

Caribbean Fleet
5 PatRons (1 PatRon each at Key West, Guadalupe, Mobile, New Orleans, and 1 Texas Coast)

Canadian Patrol
2 PatRon (1 PatRon out of Carentan, 1 out of Quebec)  

Home Army
25 infantry brigades (6.25), 6 light infantry brigades (1.2)  7 cavalry brigades (3.5),  7 cavalry regiments, (1.4) 15 fortresses (3.75), 21 depots, 22 garrison brigades (2.2)
maintenance 18.3  manpower 170,000 men

deployment
Bayonne, Narbonne, Strasbourg – 1 fortress, 3 infantry brigades each
Toulouse, Verdun, – 1 fortress, 1 infantry brigade, 2 cavalry brigades, each
Brest, Marseille- 1 fortress, 1 infantry brigade, 2 light infantry brigades each
Lille, Sedan, Reims, Metz, Nancy, Belfort – 1 fortress, 2 infantry brigades each
Soissons, Metz -  1 fortress, 1 light infantry brigade, 1 cavalry brigade each
Samaur (cavalry school) – 1 depot, 3 cavalry regiments, 1 cavalry brigade, 1 garrison brigade
Paris (engineer school)- 1 depot, 2 garrison brigades, 2 cavalry regiments (1 travels with King)
Orleans, Poiters, (royal residences, Orleans is also the artillery school) – 1 depot, 1 cavalry regiment, 1 garrison brigade
 Rennes, Nantes, Vichy, Bergerac, Turenne, St Denis, Versailles, Chartres,  Compiegne, Amiens, Dieppe, Le Mans, Bourges, Valence, Montpelier,  Fontainebleau (officer school), - 1 depot, 1 garrison brigade each

Colonial Army
10 fortresses 2.5), 3 garrison brigades (.3) 3 militia brigades (.3), 5 infantry regiments (.5), 1 cavalry regiment (.2), 1 militia battalion (.05) maintenance 3.85 manpower 32,000 (13,500 local)

Colonial Army Deployment
Martinique- 1 fortress
Guadalupe- 1 fortress
Key West- 1 fortress
New Orleans- 1 fortress, 1 garrison brigade
Mobile – 1 garrison brigade, 1 militia regiment
Cahookia- 1 depot, 1 garrison brigade
Baton Rouge- 1 infantry regiment
Carentan (Halifax) – 1 fortress
Louisbourg- 1 fortress
Quebec (city)- 1 fortress, 1 militia brigade
Montreal – 1 militia brigade
Frontec – 1 fortress, 1 infantry regiment
St John- 1 infantry regiment
Detroit- 1 infantry regiment
Caronville (Durban)- 1 fortress,
Peterville (Pietermaritzburg) - 1 cavalry regiment
Reunion- 1 fortress, 1 infantry regimen

French Military total
maintenance navy 13.55 plus home army 18.3 plus colonial army 3.85 = 35.7 points
manpower Navy 70,000 plus home army 170,000 plus colonial army 32,000 = 272,000


French military start of 1731

Navy
25 BB2 (6.25), 23 FF (4 )  16 PatRon (1.6), 2 naval yards (1)
13.30 maintenance, 70,000 men

Marseille Fleet
7 BB2 (Formidable, Terrible, Juste, Neptune, Superbe, Robuste, Diligent) 1 PatRon
mission: defense of Marseille, anti piracy patrol French Mediterranean coast

Mobile Fleet
18 BB2, 8 FF
BB2 Bretagne, Gascogne, Normandie, Provence, Lorraine, Canada, Martinique, Acadia, Louisiana, Natal, FF Tourville, Jean Bart, Assure,  Infedele, Sincere, Favorite, Mercure, Hermes, Hercule, Ajax, Achille, Hector, Roland, Charles Martel, Alexandre, Cesar
mission 1731: Working up fleet with the 8 new BB2s in the Bay of Biscay

Eastern Fleet (Penang)
3 PatRon (escorting merchant shipping to China from Caronville)

Brest Fleet
2 FF Gloire, Amazone, 5 PatRon (patrolling local area)

Southern Fleet (based at Reunion)
 9 FF, 3 PatRon
FF Sirene, Galant, Assure, Constant, Trident, Indien, Africain, Dryade, Griffon, plus 3 PatRon (local patrol) (includes 1 PatRon at Falkland Islands)

Caribbean Fleet
5 PatRons (1 PatRon each at Key West, Guadalupe, Mobile, New Orleans, and 1 Texas Coast)

Canadian Patrol
2 PatRon (1 PatRon out of Carentan, 1 out of Quebec)  

Home Army
25 infantry brigades (6.25), 6 light infantry brigades (1.2)  7 cavalry brigades (3.5),  7 cavalry regiments, (1.4) 15 fortresses (3.75), 21 depots, 22 garrison brigades (2.2)
maintenance 18.3  manpower 170,000 men

deployment
Bayonne, Narbonne, Strasbourg – 1 fortress, 3 infantry brigades each
Toulouse, Verdun, – 1 fortress, 1 infantry brigade, 2 cavalry brigades, each
Brest, Marseille- 1 fortress, 1 infantry brigade, 2 light infantry brigades each
Lille, Sedan, Reims, Metz, Nancy, Belfort – 1 fortress, 2 infantry brigades each
Soissons, Metz -  1 fortress, 1 light infantry brigade, 1 cavalry brigade each
Samaur (cavalry school) – 1 depot, 3 cavalry regiments, 1 cavalry brigade, 1 garrison brigade
Paris (engineer school)- 1 depot, 2 garrison brigades, 2 cavalry regiments (1 travels with King)
Orleans, Poiters, (royal residences, Orleans is also the artillery school) – 1 depot, 1 cavalry regiment, 1 garrison brigade
 Rennes, Nantes, Vichy, Bergerac, Turenne, St Denis, Versailles, Chartres,  Compiegne, Amiens, Dieppe, Le Mans, Bourges, Valence, Montpelier,  Fontainebleau (officer school), - 1 depot, 1 garrison brigade each

Colonial Army
10 fortresses 2.5), 3 garrison brigades (.3) 3 militia brigades (.3), 5 infantry regiments (.5), 1 cavalry regiment (.2), 1 militia battalion (.05) maintenance 3.85 manpower 32,000 (13,500 local)

Colonial Army Deployment
Martinique- 1 fortress
Guadalupe- 1 fortress
Key West- 1 fortress
New Orleans- 1 fortress, 1 garrison brigade
Mobile – 1 garrison brigade, 1 militia regiment
Cahookia- 1 depot, 1 garrison brigade
Baton Rouge- 1 infantry regiment
Carentan (Halifax) – 1 fortress
Louisbourg- 1 fortress
Quebec (city)- 1 fortress, 1 militia brigade
Montreal – 1 militia brigade
Frontec – 1 fortress, 1 infantry regiment
St John- 1 infantry regiment
Detroit- 1 infantry regiment
Caronville (Durban)- 1 fortress,
Peterville (Pietermaritzburg) - 1 cavalry regiment
Reunion- 1 fortress, 1 infantry regimen

French Military total
maintenance navy 13.30 plus home army 18.3 plus colonial army 3.85 = 35.35 points
manpower Navy 70,000 plus home army 170,000 plus colonial army 32,000 = 272,000

[Galveston Bay]

Government as of 1701

The King of France, Philip VII, holds the crown and has since 1699.   (deceased 1703)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippe_I,_Duke_of_Orl%C3%A9ans

As of 1703
Phillipe VIII (b 2 August 1674) (age 29 at time of his Coronation) Married Louise Benedicte de Bourbon (cadet branch of family, granddaughter of the Great Conde) in 1699.   No issue yet

Siblings:
Anne Marie d'Orléans (27 August 1669 ) married to the Duke of Savoy Victor Amadeus II has  issue.
Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans (13 September 1676 –) married Leopold, Duke of Lorraine and has issue. (Leopold is Regent of Naples)
3 daughters, 1 son, and baby due in February 1714


Queen Mother (widow of Phillipe VII)  Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate, daughter of Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine and Charlotte of Hesse-Kassel, on 16 November 1671 at Châlons. The couple had three children:

[Galveston Bay]

BB2 (built 1690-1710)
Tonnant, Formidable, Intrepide, Terrible, Orient, Ocean, Triomphe, Sceptre, Juste, Neptune, Superbe, Robuste, Diligent, Achille, Ajax,

FF2 (built 1690-1710)
Sirene, Tigre, Galant, Assure, Constant, Trident, Indien, Africain, Dryade, Griffon, Gloire, Amazone, Leger, Jean Bart, Tourville,

PatRons- named for Flowers, Bays, Islands, Winds and Weather, and sea creatures

[Galveston Bay]

1701 Build
Build 1701
French income: (see 1701 Economic base) 47.5 points
Navy maintenance: 17.5 points
Army maintenance: 23.3 points
subtotal military maintenance 40.8 points
subsidies to Naples 3

Naples income (see 1701 Economic base) 5.5 points
Navy maintenance: 3.5 points
Army maintenance: 5 points
subtotal military maintenance 8.5 points (deficit 3)
French assistance 3 points

Layup 2 Heavy Batrons from Fleet at Brest (reduces 3 points maintenance to .3 points maintenance) makes 2.7 points available
convert 4 French (Vichy, Valence, Montpelier, Turenn) Garrison brigades into 8 cavalry regiments, 2 infantry battalions (no point cost, same point values, no maintenance change)
convert 4 Italian (1 each fortress except Naples) garrison brigades into 10 infantry battalions
(as above)
(military orders and explanation to come)

Available French  3.7 points + 2.7 points = 6.4 points
Illinois:  trading post established Thunder Bay (OTL Thunder Bay), Cape Girardeau (OTL location) 6 points
Expansion of University Paris -Sorbonne and establishment of Ecole Polytechnique .4 points (Sorbonne for members of the 1st and 2nd Estate, Ecole Polytechnique for members of the 3rd Estate)

[Galveston Bay]

Government Reform of France and Naples  

As of 1700 the two kingdoms are in a complicated relationships.   The King of France rules France directly, and the heir to the crown of France is King of Naples, thus subordinate but technically separate.   Both have their own internal institutions and traditions.   After years of living in Italy and studying in Rome as well as at home in Naples, as well as touring the old Roman ruins of southern Italy, the young 24 year old King of Naples has become a student and ardent devotee of Roman history and developed a strong interest in Classical Roman government.

He presents as a proposal a plan to improve the administration and governance of the kingdoms and territories that would bring in the 3rd Estate as a counterweight to the great nobles and church and ensure that the 3rd Estate and its growing wealth is tied more closely to the Crown.   The key he feels is to get the best men into positions of authority and power with strong ties to the Crown, which is the source of that authority and power and to do so requires bringing back the old Roman concept of the Cursus Honorum (Latin for Course of office) where men advance up a ladder of power with each rung having requirements in age, education and achievement.    While this would weaken the ability of the Crown to reward favorites, he notes that over the course of French history many of those favorites have not served the Realm or the Crown well at all.    The King also feels that this course would allow the creation of strong administrators, freeing the crown from the drudgery of day to day details but assuring that they are handled well, and thus allow more time for strategy, diplomacy and policy.

To serve those ends, Philip of Naples recommends that the following offices and officers be revived, positions that served Rome well for nearly 1,000 years and thus would serve the Crown as well or better.  

Auditeur- a recreation of the Roman position of Queastor, who will supervise the accounts of the State, its armies, provinces and colonies, and the treasury.   These men will be selected equally from all 3 Estates, with the condition that they be of 30 years of age, have successfully attained a degree at university, and to be considered men of good character.   One will be assigned each fortress, province, colony, and major city, and allowed staff to accomplish their work, as well to the Treasury.    The Chief Auditeur will assist the Treasurer, while the other Auditeurs will serve as senior staff for each governor of their area of responsibility.   Auditeurs will have investigative and inquisitory authority of all matters financial in their areas of responsibility.   These men will have positions in the Estates General and indeed shall be appointed from it.

Governors- Appointed from members of the Estates General, they hold judicial and administrative authority over the province or colony that they are charged to rule in the name of the Crown.  They outrank any noble short of Crown or its heirs in that colony but only in that colony or province.  Outside of that colony or province they hold the rank of Count or Baron depending on the size of the Province or Colony they rule.   Certain cities, such as Paris, Marseilles, and Brest, also have governors due to their importance to the realm.  

Crown Ministers- from now on all Ministers of Crown will be selected from the ranks of the Generals and Marshals of France, the Admirals of the Marine, from the Auditeurs, and from the Governors.   This is to ensure that men of talent and accomplishment serve the Crown that also owe their position to the Crown.  

The Estates General- shall consist of 300 men, with 25 from the 1st Estate (Clergy),  75 from the 2nd Estate (Nobility) and 50 from the 3rd Estate (Commoners) who as a secondary condition must meet property or financial qualifications and have a degree.  

The Estates General is seen as central to this scheme and while it has not met since 1614, it has tradition behind it, and is already traditionally a consultative body to the Crown.   It is now time to put the individual members of that body to work in a broader form.   It is also time to recall it as well.  With the 1st Estate consisting of nearly 10,000 clergy, the 2nd Estate with almost 400,000 nobles (and family members) and the 3rd Estate with the remainder of the 20 Million people of France, some selectivity will be needed.   In addition, a size limit, to keep the body from becoming unwieldy as well as careful selection of its members is needed, to avoid the problems the Stuarts had with their Parliament, is also needed.  

Philip VII is presented with the plan in early 1701

[TLS]

Government Reform of France and Naples  

As of 1700 the two kingdoms are in a complicated relationships.   The King of France rules France directly, and the heir to the crown of France is King of Naples, thus subordinate but technically separate.   Both have their own internal institutions and traditions.   After years of living in Italy and studying in Rome as well as at home in Naples, as well as touring the old Roman ruins of southern Italy, the young 24 year old King of Naples has become a student and ardent devotee of Roman history and developed a strong interest in Classical Roman government.

He presents as a proposal a plan to improve the administration and governance of the kingdoms and territories that would bring in the 3rd Estate as a counterweight to the great nobles and church and ensure that the 3rd Estate and its growing wealth is tied more closely to the Crown.   The key he feels is to get the best men into positions of authority and power with strong ties to the Crown, which is the source of that authority and power and to do so requires bringing back the old Roman concept of the Cursus Honorum (Latin for Course of office) where men advance up a ladder of power with each rung having requirements in age, education and achievement.    While this would weaken the ability of the Crown to reward favorites, he notes that over the course of French history many of those favorites have not served the Realm or the Crown well at all.    The King also feels that this course would allow the creation of strong administrators, freeing the crown from the drudgery of day to day details but assuring that they are handled well, and thus allow more time for strategy, diplomacy and policy.

To serve those ends, Philip of Naples recommends that the following offices and officers be revived, positions that served Rome well for nearly 1,000 years and thus would serve the Crown as well or better.  

Auditeur- a recreation of the Roman position of Queastor, who will supervise the accounts of the State, its armies, provinces and colonies, and the treasury.   These men will be selected equally from all 3 Estates, with the condition that they be of 30 years of age, have successfully attained a degree at university, and to be considered men of good character.   One will be assigned each fortress, province, colony, and major city, and allowed staff to accomplish their work, as well to the Treasury.    The Chief Auditeur will assist the Treasurer, while the other Auditeurs will serve as senior staff for each governor of their area of responsibility.   Auditeurs will have investigative and inquisitory authority of all matters financial in their areas of responsibility.   These men will have positions in the Estates General and indeed shall be appointed from it.

Governors- Appointed from members of the Estates General, they hold judicial and administrative authority over the province or colony that they are charged to rule in the name of the Crown.  They outrank any noble short of Crown or its heirs in that colony but only in that colony or province.  Outside of that colony or province they hold the rank of Count or Baron depending on the size of the Province or Colony they rule.   Certain cities, such as Paris, Marseilles, and Brest, also have governors due to their importance to the realm.  

Crown Ministers- from now on all Ministers of Crown will be selected from the ranks of the Generals and Marshals of France, the Admirals of the Marine, from the Auditeurs, and from the Governors.   This is to ensure that men of talent and accomplishment serve the Crown that also owe their position to the Crown.  

The Estates General- shall consist of 300 men, with 25 from the 1st Estate (Clergy),  75 from the 2nd Estate (Nobility) and 50 from the 3rd Estate (Commoners) who as a secondary condition must meet property or financial qualifications and have a degree.  

The Estates General is seen as central to this scheme and while it has not met since 1614, it has tradition behind it, and is already traditionally a consultative body to the Crown.   It is now time to put the individual members of that body to work in a broader form.   It is also time to recall it as well.  With the 1st Estate consisting of nearly 10,000 clergy, the 2nd Estate with almost 400,000 nobles (and family members) and the 3rd Estate with the remainder of the 20 Million people of France, some selectivity will be needed.   In addition, a size limit, to keep the body from becoming unwieldy as well as careful selection of its members is needed, to avoid the problems the Stuarts had with their Parliament, is also needed.  

Philip VII is presented with the plan in early 1701

The plan presented to Philip VII is kept very secret, and, like all very secret occurrences in Versailles, soon becomes well known throughout the French upper class. The Parlements of France (all 13 of them), upon hearing of the rumored reforms being spread about the upper-echelons of the Royal family, are apoplectic at the attempted subversion of their ancestral rights and privileges. It has been barely 40 years-- the best years of the life span of a healthy, Christian noble!--since the end of the Fronde, when the boy King Louis XIV (what a tragedy his death before he could become a true King in his own right, surely it was the manipulation of the Cardinal de Mazarin--Louis would have ruled in peace and tandem with his nobility!) was betrayed by his ministers engaging in open warfare against the Nobility. The Parlement of Paris, as befitting the statues as the appeals court of the royal seat, is full of angry young lawyers, inveighing against the power-grab by the Crown. Though some of the smaller Parlements are too timid to forcefully react, no less than 7 of the Parlements (including Paris) issue remonstrances against the proposed reforms. Though the Crown can resort to responding with lettres de juisson, the Parlements make it known at in at least a few cases they will require the King to appear in person to issues lits de justice.

The remonstrances focus almost entirely on the reforms to the Estates-Generaux (how dare the King attempt to subvert the ancient consultative body of the Estates without their consent!) and any weakening of the authority, rights, and privileges of the nobility. The clergy--or more accurately, the bishops, who control and speak for the clergy--similarly recoil at the limits on their ancestral rights and privileges, and shudder at the thought of any sort of whittling away of their rights. Too many bishops are cognizant of the perils which befell the Papacy during the French captivity, and worry for their privileges if the King is able to leverage the rabble against them. Whats more, the proposed reforms place a heavy burden upon the promotion of quality individuals from within the 3rd Estate--and the 3rd, indeed, lacks any sort of mobilization, power, or real influence. The vast majority of the 3rd Estate consists of peasants and barely-skilled craftsmen, with little wealth behind them. The majority of the capital-owning class--such a share-holders in the FEIC, tax collectors, and traders--are, in fact, nobles (though, it should be noted, the France of Philippe VII sees its fair shares of ennoblement for "contributions to the Crown"...) and are aghast at the loss of the privileges they have worked so hard to protect and enshrine.

Not all is against the Crown, of course. Philippe, though known to be a deviant and a foppish dandy, is respected as a just man, who inherited a Kingdom from the clutches of the power-hungry de Mazarin and has steered France to being the predominant power in Europe. Surely these proposals do not come from his hand, and more level-headed members of the Parlements recognize that their remonstrances are against a document which has not even been issued, and thus the King not make any appearance at all. The grandees, including the de facto Prince de Conde, Louis de Bourbon (his father, the actual Prince, being insane with "clinical lycanthropy") make it known that the nobility, if pushed, could well react violently to these reforms--and, in the event of an Estates-Generaux, perhaps push for even more open limits in return for considering any future tax increases. Many of the reforms being proposed needlessly alienate the nobility--why not have the Governors, Auditeurs, and other officials be drawn from the premier sons of France, the nobility? Indeed, all of the current and past Marshals of France have been Nobles. And why, if it is obvious that a man of quality finds himself stranded in the 3rd Estate, perhaps ennoblement is the solution.

[OOC: The Parlements were, historically, the hotbed of noble opposition to the Crown, and the forum in which the noble most angrily voiced their frustration with the Crown. The story of the French Revolution, some hundred years later, effectively began when the Parlements were infuriated by Royal overreach and in many ways crippled the judicial operation of the state while training many of the sharpest minds who would enter into the Estates-General with a reformist bent. Indeed, what people often overlook is the fact that the French Revolution wouldn't have succeeded without the nobility being convinced of the merits of reform--though much of the nobility later spun away and recoiled at where it went, it was the decision of the nobility (and the clergy, though the Bishops were effectively all from the 2nd Estate) to vote to abolish their own privileges and to amalgamate all 3 Estates into one body. This came at the end of a century-long process of reading Enlightenment literature, Americophilia following the American Revolution, and anger at the Crown for failure to provide coherent governance.

However, we are 90 years prior to that point, and a lot of what made the Revolution possible then has not happened. Voltaire is five, Rousseau's not even born, Montesquieu is a 12 year old, and thus the intellectual foundations which drove (a segment of) the nobility to even consider reform are absent. The 3rd Estate is nascent in its consciousness--the majority of lawyers, judges, and business owners in 1789 were actually from the nobility, and its an order of magnitude greater 90 years prior--and there, in many ways, isn't even a pool of qualified 3rd Estate types to draw from. Ennoblement remained common, historically, until the 1760s or so--which was when the Nobility really began to fear that the 3rd Estate would surpass it--and this allowed for many of the most capable commoners to parlay their success into privilege.

TL;DR we're still within living memory of basically 150 years of on/off noble rebellions against the crown. There doesn't exist the theoretical underpinnings for such a reform of government (indeed, what exists is the example of the perfidious Albionites, which even in the time of the French Revolution was a comparison enough to scuttle the careers of aspiring Republicans who were seen as being to anglophilic), there is no pressing cause for reform (France is rich! she's the most powerful country in the world! she hasn't lost a war in decades!), and there are no real power centers outside the nobility and the crown.

That being said, everything other than the reforms to the Estates-General could probably be forced through with the understanding that it wouldn't be the radical effort in realignment between the Estates isn't there. It took half a century of crisis and debt to even consider reforming the Estates-General--it'll take more than the Dauphin visiting some old ruins to convince the nobility that the way to go involves abandoning their ancient rights and privileges.)

[TLS]

(OOC: But now for some news to make GB happy!)

May, 1701

After months of deliberations and consultations with the Pope in Rome, the Grand Master of the Knights of St. John, Ramon Perellos y Roccaful offers to swear fealty to the King of Naples, Filippo III, heir to the Kingdom of France. Malta was historically the vassal of Sicily, and now that the title has passed to the French Crown, the Knights are willing to offer their sword in the war against the Barbary Menace. In return for recognition of their ancient rights and privileges--autonomy over the island of Malta and respect for their internal governance--and an oath to only turn their weapons against the Unbelievers, the Knights will put their resources and island at the disposal of Filippo and his descendants in perpetuity.

-----------------------------------------------
The following become a French vassal:

The Knights of Malta

Population: 50,000
Capital: Valetta
Government: Theocratic Military Order

Economy
Port: 1 Malta
Fleets: 1 Commercial Fleet

Military
Manpower: The Knights draw recruits from all over Europe. As such, they can more or less maintain the forces they have below (approx 15,000 men under arms, though only a fraction are knights proper), though depending on the development of events the mod can alter their manpower pool.

Naval
-2 CruRon
-3 PatRon

Land
-1 Fortress (Malta)
-1 Militia

[Childeric]

Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor, welcomes with great joy the news that the French king has answered the Emperors call to push back on anti-Christian forces.

The Habsburg envoy in Paris publicly commits the current Venetian fleet to assisting the Emperor's Christian Brother in his efforts against the pirates.

[Galveston Bay]

Summer 1701
The French government has been in talks for weeks with the various banks and lenders and with the declaration of war takes out a 10 Million Livre (ooc Point) loan.   The money is allocated to the Army.  

14 Garrison brigades are activated for service, the entire reserve army (not including 4 brigades mobilized earlier in the year).   8 Garrison brigades are upgraded into 7 infantry brigades and 1 Engineer.   The other 6 brigades are reorganized and mobilized into 10 cavalry regiments and 5 infantry battalions.   By the end of July mounts, pack and draft animals, carts, and wagons are pouring into their depots from the provinces they serve while the troops begin drilling and training for war.  

In the Kingdom of Naples, 2 garrison brigades are called into active field service and reorganized into 3 cavalry regiments and 2 infantry battalions (leaving 4 garrison brigades, 2 in Sicily, 1 each Taranto and Naples).  The Crown of Naples also begins talks with the Papacy regarding a loan for 1702.

At Versailles, King Phillip VII issues a Royal Decree stating that enemies taken in arms in the upcoming war will be, as a mirror for the way the Barbary Pirates have traditionally treated their captives, taken into slavery.   They will be sent to labor in the French Colonies of Haiti and French Guiana.   Exceptions will be made for Christians, Jews, and those willing to convert from Islam to the Holy Faith.  

Commanders will be allowed to make exceptions as part of any negotiation of capitulation by a city.   As part of the decree commanders are also announced for the war.

A second decree announcing that the land and its inhabitants taken in the war to come will be the direct property of Bourbon family, with the inhabitants to be the direct subjects of the Crown.  (1st Act of 1701)

[TLS]

Fall 1701 - Winter 1702

With events on the European mainland spiraling towards greater conflagration--carrying an increasing religious bent--more and more the discussions of the European elite, be they in trading houses or minor courts, are abuzz with one topic: whither France? Though the French fleets sail the Mediterranean, battling the Barbary Corsairs, the bombastic and violent rhetoric and events--the resurgence of the wars of religion, the death of the Elector of Brandenburg, the betrayal of the Danes, the the Commonwealth landing on the shores of the Low Countries--cause increasing concern that France make a declaration one way or another.

Of course, the aforementioned war against the Corsairs is indeed in full swing, mollifying some elements. Faithful Catholics, who continue to lament that the King Philippe has let the Edict of Nantes stand and to tolerate the Huguenot presence, are generally pleased at the war against the Mahommedan raiders--though they are concerned that the King seems to be increasingly dismissive of the Pontiffs exhortations to join the war on the side of the Emperor. What's more, now that the Commonwealth has landed an army on the European mainland for the first time in a decade, the conservatives in the French court grow increasingly restless. The majority of the French fleet is engaged in the Mediterranean, and while the army is mobilized to defend the coasts and frontiers the mere presence of Englishmen some 50 miles from France is a cause for consternation.

Indeed, the religious element of the Great Northern War is making life increasingly difficult for the 1 million Huguenots who call France home. They make up an outsize percentage of the merchant, trading, and financier classes, and rumors spread that the reason why the King--a known degenerate, even by the standards of royalty, though tolerated by his people for giving them years of success and wealth--has not declared for the side of the Emperor is that the Heretic Financiers, like the Usurious Hebrews, are directing him way from doing his Christian duty. This is not a sentiment particularly prevalent among the nobility, who recognize that France often sides with Heretics to defend its interests, but the nobles are not exactly enamored with the King after the dangerous rumors of constitutional reform. Instead, these thoughts proliferate among the barely-literate of 3rd Estate, the petty traders and craftsmen who are just aware enough to know of the events of the world around them without any particular nuance.

[Galveston Bay]

To offset this call to plunge France into another bloody war that would divide the nation further, the French crown quietly begins funneling money (bribes)(OOC: I had this already budgeted) to influential French and southern Italian aristocrats (see 1702 build).   The Crown has also organized 2 Armies of Observation, one of which will keep a close eye on the events in the Austrian Netherlands, the other in the Riveria will be available to assist the Italians should either Muslim or Protestants threaten the Catholic soil of Italy.

The Crown also announces that Jews and Protestants are under the direct protection of the King, and as long as they are discrete, will be left alone.  As to rumors of the Hebrew influence, the Crown again directs decrees across the realm for the Holy Crusade against the Barbary Pirates, who have raided the French coast for centuries and taking tens of thousands of French villagers and sailors into slavery over that time.  

A decree late in the year announces that Jews and Protestants may emigrate to Acadia and will be allowed to settle in North Africa once it is conquered.  As will all Catholics.   Indeed Jews are Protestants are each allowed to join regiments of the Army of North Africa which will earn them, as well as all other soldiers of France who serve for the duration of the war, rights to land in colonies overseas.   The Crown feels that they are paying a blood tax and should be rewarded, although obviously not to the same extent as the traditional Knights de Epee   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobles_of_the_Sword

The Crown also announces the institution of heavier taxes, both to pay for the Crusade but also to ensure that the Army is ready, should it be needed, to deal with the war now spreading across Europe.  An announcement is made that 16 new frigates will be added to the fleet to fight pirates and if necessary other enemies of France.

Meanwhile Crown officials are directed to ensure that those spreading rumors of "Jewish or Protestant" treason have the opportunity to quietly disappear into a dungeon followed by a journey to the West Indies.

The final decree of the year announces that as of 1702, only crimes of a particularly heinous nature... such as treason, less majeste, murder with particular cruelty, and a few others will meet with death.  From now crimes that traditionally met with death or sentence to the galleys will now result in 5 years labor in the colonies, with permanent exile thereafter.  In addition the old defense of pleading the belly is now merely a postponement of sentence.  Children born to such are to be handed over to family or the Church, and the convict will be exiled after that.  

Colonial representatives get to pick from those convicted, with Canada, Acadia, and the West Indies making their selections in that order.

[Galveston Bay]

Malta
Navy: 2 Cruron, 3 Patron, (1.75 points)
Army: 1 fortress, 1 militia brigade (.6)
maintenance 2.35 points (1.25 is from donations from Church and various European funds and lands)

Naples 1702 build
Income: 5.5 points + 5 point Sovereign Loan = 10 points
maintenance: 8.5 points
available: 1.5 points
Tax increase (to wartime taxes) 1 point
repair 2 PatRon, pay maintenance both Maltese Commercial Flotillas (for troop lift) .5
Direct loan from France 1.5 points which is given to Malta (to offset commercial income lost) and to repair damaged Maltese PatRon and Naples PatRons


France
Income: 48 points + 10 point Sovereign Loan (loan of 1702)
TAX INCREASE (wartime taxes) raises 6 points
Expenses:
Loan repayment (10 point loan of 1701)  principal plus interest 1.15 points
Direct loan to Naples Crown  1.5 points
subtotal: 3.65 points (64 – 3.65=61.35 points)
Military Maintenance:  Army 23.5 points  
Military Maintenance Navy: 12.1 points  (includes laying up remaining 2 heavy batrons),
repair 2 PatRons (2 points)
Available:  23.75
form 20 Cavalry regiments into 8 Cavalry Brigades (difference 12 points, some regiments get converted into heavy cavalry) 12 points (10 regiments in the south form 4, 10 regiments in to north form 4)
build campaign: Build 4 CruRons (18 points total) year 1 of 4 (7 points of 18)

Bribery campaign to keep aristocrats less interested in joining the Great Northern War
Direct bribe money (French aristocrats) .55 points
Direct bribe money (Sicilian/Southern Italian aristocrats) .2

[Galveston Bay]

Winter and Spring 1702

With tensions easing between France and England, and with no threat likely from Switzerland, Bavaria or Spain, the French government orders the abandonment of a number of fortresses. In the future they will be replaced by depots. For now their troops are needed elsewhere, as is the cost savings.

The fortresses of Belfort, Besancon, Macon, Lyons, Narbonne, Toulouse, and Bayonne are abandoned. Their 7 infantry battalions, along with 3 from Versailles, are sent to reinforce the fortresses along the northern border, specifically Lille, Cambrai, St Quentin, Soissons, Rocroi, Charleville-Mezieres, Sedan, Rheims, Chalons, Verdun, (1 each). The Army of Observation (Nord) is placed under the command of Duc de Tallard, and also has 4 Cavalry brigades, which are patrolling the border from Sedan to the English Channel. He also is responsible for the fortresses of Metz, Nancy, Strasbourg, and Belfort. (total force: 14 fortresses, 10 infantry battalions, 4 cavalry brigades)

At Versailles there are 2 infantry battalions and 2 cavalry regiments protecting the Royal Household.

The coasts are still guarded by a string of fortresses, which are on alert as the nation is at war, stretching from Bordeaux to Roen ( Bordeaux, La Rochelle, Nantes, Lorient, Brest, St Malo, Cherbourg, Lehavre, Rouen) (9 total) along with the Fortress at Toulon in the south (1 more)

Near Marseilles, the Expeditionary Army has 4 cavalry brigades (1 of which is watching the border with Savoy), 7 infantry brigades, 1 engineer brigade and 4 infantry battalions.

In the Kingdom of Naples, 2 infantry battalions and 2 cavalry regiments are guarding the Royal Household, while 10 infantry battalions (now reduced to 6) invaded Libya, and 1 Cavalry regiment is helping to ensure order is maintained in Sicily along with 2 garrison brigades. The remaining 2 garrison brigades are in Naples but have orders to prepare for active service next year. The 5 Fortresses are prepared for any attack by the pirates, as is the garrison of Malta (1 fortress, 1 militia brigade).

Fleet deployments are covered more fully in the Barbary Wars thread, but 4 heavy BatRon are currently laid up (2 each Marseilles and Brest). 4 CruRons are in their 1st of 4 years of building. A BatRon is under repair at Marseilles.

[Galveston Bay]

The Army is ordered to go to garrison and replace men lost to disease and desertion over the last year once the Fall of 1702 begins.

In addition, all fortresses except for Brest and Toulon (for the fleet), Dunkirk and Soissons (to protect the northern approaches to Paris), Belfort and Verdun (to protect the eastern approaches to Paris) are abandoned, creating 18 infantry battalions..  Each of those battalions is sent to a depot
(18 depots)  Ile de France: St Denis, Paris, Versailles, Chartres, Orleans, Compiegne, Amiens, Dieppe, LeMans, Rennes, Nantes, Poitiers, Bourges, Valence, Vichy, Montpelier, Bergerec,  Turenn
8 Cavalry brigades are disbanded, and 18 cavalry regiments are sent to depots (1 per depot above), while 2 regiments go to Versailles.
6 Infantry brigades are sent to the Fortresses (see above) where they convert to garrison brigades
1 Engineer and 1 Infantry brigade go to Marseilles and become garrison troops.
(Note that many of those depots are in walled cities)
4 Infantry battalions and 2 Cavalry regiments are en route to Florida (see Navy below) (2 Cav, 2 inf to Pensacola, 4 infantry to St Augustine including a battalion from Haiti)
of the 10 remaining infantry battalions, 6 are sent to fortresses (1 each fortress), while 4 are at Versailles
All troops to be in their garrisons by end of November

Naples
4 Fortresses are abandoned, creating 4 infantry battalions. (only Naples remains)
this gives Kingdom of Naples 4 garrison brigades, 12 infantry battalions, 3 cavalry regiments
6 Infantry battalions transported by sea to Malta in case the Turks or Barbary Pirates or Austrians make a grab
2 garrison brigades at Sicily
2 garrison brigades, 1 cavalry regiment, 1 infantry regiment at Naples (city)
2 cavalry regiments, 2 infantry battalions border guards (1 of each on either side of the boot) along the new border with the Papal States
3 infantry battalions at Taranto (again in case the Austrians, Turks or Barbary pirates get aggressive)

The Navies
Unable to afford the continued cost of operation, the Kingdom of Naples transfers its 4 CruRons to France who will take over manning and for France to pay off the Naples debt (ready for sea in Spring 1703).  The damaged PatRon is scrapped.
Malta fleet – no changes, and it is covering shipping along with the 3 remaining Naples Patrons Fall 1702 (escort mission in Med)
French Navy sees major changes
1 BatRon (the damaged one), 1 PatRon, are scrapped (crews will provide cadre for the 4 Naples Crurons obtained)
3 CruRons sail to Constantinople.  1 will remain active next year, the other two are being traded to Turkey for 2 BatRons (and those crews will take over those ships)
2 BatRon, 1 Cruron, 1 PatRon are returning home from the Canada to Brest
2 BatRon, 1 Cruron, 1 commercial flotilla are en route to Haiti and then Florida (arrives October Haiti, December Florida), which is after Yellow Fever and Hurricane season.  2 Cavalry regiments and 4 infantry battalions are en route to Florida (plus 1 moved from Haiti)
4 BatRon, 1 PatRon patrolling off Malta (goes home to Toulon in the winter)
2 PatRon to Le Havre for duty as couriers beginning next year (24 ships, 2 sailings a month to Caribbean and 2 sailings a month to Canada)

[TLS]

Aftermath of the Colonial Auction

The French merchant houses in Bordeaux are caught off-guard by the sale of France's West Indian colonial ventures. The complex system of finance that has been established to guarantee the funding and insurance of ventures to both the East and West is now left without established and guaranteed business. Though the financiers are promised new business--either from the new French colony of Florida or rumored new ventures in the East--a bird in hand is better than two in the bush, and now the financial markets are left without their bird in hand.

The fragile financial system is thus sent into a tailspin, with lending and insurance houses closing their doors as the overabundance of capital and no demand leads to the price of their services crashing through the floor. The ports and trading houses across the Atlantic slow to a crawl--some of the trade is reoriented to existing colonies, but capacity far outweighs demand for trade to the few remaining Caribbean posts. The knock-on effects will continue throughout 1703 and 1704, hitting the merchant and trading classes most strenuously. The Huguenots in particular are hit hard by the downturn, and over the next 5 years almost 50,000 (out of 1,000,000) will leave mainland France. Some will go to the existing French colonies (including Florida), but most will go to London or Amsterdam, to practice their trade among coreligionists, while some will go to the Dutch colonies in the Cape of New Hope.

Game Effects
-1 French FC at Bordeaux at half value for next 5 years [1703-1708] (income drops to .5 p.a., loan capacity drops to 7.5, meaning that France's domestic financial capacity for next 5 years is at 22.5 total/7.5 p.a.)
-French Florida gains 2 free outposts in 1703 and 1704, respectively (RL Fort Caroline/Jacksonville 1703, RL Pensacola 1704)
-Dutch Cape Colony gets 1 free outpost in 1703 (RL Franschhoek)

[Galveston Bay]

French Florida
East Florida: St Augustine (village), new outpost established 1703 of Fort Caroline (OTL Jacksonville)
West Florida: Pensacola (village), grows substantially to a town by 1708 due to an influx created by the Panic of 1702
South Florida: trading posts are planned
a significant Indian population is still in this area, although much much smaller after 2 centuries of contact with the previous Spanish owners.  At its height, last century, there were 60 missions and roughly 100,000 native inhabitants.  This has falled considerably to 14 missions and roughly 15,000 surviving inhabitants (Indians), plus a similar number still live in scattered communities in South Florida.  The French Crown continues to honor the Missions and their territories, however as they are consolidated (by continued die offs) land is transferred to the Crown for sale.  (by the way, the Seminoles are not yet present)

The Church considers the missions a success as the inhabitants all found God before their unfortunate deaths from disease.   Some of the survivors will inter-marry with European and Africans and develop a measure of immunity to Old World diseases.  

OOC
Estimates of Pre Contact populations run into at least a million, although many were not agricultural (those in the more swampy areas of Florida).  The Columbian exchange was unkind to the Florida Indians


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_missions_in_Florida
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_peoples_of_Florida
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apalachee_massacre
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscogee

also this work
https://books.google.com/books/about/Cannibalism_Headhunting_and_Human_Sacrif.html?id=8Td1AAAAMAAJ

[Galveston Bay]

Alarmed by the Financial Crisis with the banking system, and also having won the Barbary War, the Crown ends wartime taxation for 1703

Income: 47

Military Maintenance 25.3
purchase 2 BatRons from Ottoman Navy (5 points of 10, rest next year plus 3 points to get them ready for sea effective in Spring 1703) 8 points
purchase 4 CruRons from Naples Navy (5 points, see Naples income)
subtotal military spending:  38.3 points

Additional Income: 5 points from Ireland for sale of French Virgin Islands (see above and geography thread)
47 + 5 = 52 - military spending 38.3 = 13.7 points available


Two loans were taken out during the war (20 points) and last year only partial interest was paid (1.15 points).   Additional interest for last year .35 points plus interest on 20 points (3 points) = 3.35 points interest plus 4 points principal paid = 7.35 points

It is hoped that this infusion of Royal payments into the financial system will help offset some of the uncertainty in the financial system.

6.35 points available
economic expansion: trading posts at Miami (South Florida) and Tampa (South Florida)
buyouts of French plantation owners in French Guiana .15 points
bonuses to French Naval officers for services during the Barbary War .15 points
additional funds for extra hospitality to Le Havre Conference attendees .05 points

borrow 2 points (year 3 loan) to keep construction underway for 4 CruRons (8 points total of 18 total, year 2 of 4)

Debt as of 1704 will be 18 points total (4 points of 22 paid)

[Galveston Bay]

1703   The Dauphin (and current King of Naples) begins meeting with aristocrats and men of substantial financial standing in southern Italy and France regarding future ways to generate revenue for the Crown and the State.   Discussed is just how much land the Church owns in central and southern Italy and in France.  

The Dauphin is merely feeling out how opinions are in that regard.  Meetings where this topic is meet with reception continue on regarding how fortunate the Protestant kings were over the last two centuries in generating massive amounts of revenue from redirecting ownership.   Avoided is the word "seizure" ...  at least for now.

The King is kept appraised of these meetings but neither he or the Dauphin have any plans to act and when rumors spread, the King announces that it is a pity that the Church suffered so much loss to the Protestants for two centuries.   However he sometimes wonders if the Church shouldn't be rendering more unto Caesar in the material realm while concentrating more on God's work in the spiritual realm if this comes up in meetings.  

OOC
The Church’s revenue in 1789 was estimated at an immense – and possibly exaggerated – 150 million livres. It owned around six per cent of land throughout France, and its abbeys, churches, monasteries and convents, as well as the schools, hospitals and other institutions it operated, formed a visible reminder of the Church’s dominance in French society. The Church was also permitted to collect the tithe, worth a nominal one-tenth of agricultural production, and was exempt from direct taxation on its earnings.  Church holdings are similar in 1703 although the value is hard to estimate because I haven't found a source yet.

It is higher still in southern and central Italy

The English and the Swedes obtained huge sums from the seizure of Church lands.  Indeed it is unlikely Sweden would have been a factor in the 30 Years War if they hadn't seized all that property and wealth in the decades prior to it.   Henry VIII made a fortune as well (although he spent one just as quickly)

just aside, this is not an action being taken now or even soon. Laying groundwork for something much further down the line

[TLS]

On March 17th, 1703, Philippe, King of the French, passes away in his sleep. He dies the way he lived: content, far from his nagging wife, and in the arms of a strong male companion.

[Kilani]

The Commonwealth quietly inquires about the possibility of using Martinique as a port of call for anti-piracy patrols in the near future.

[Galveston Bay]

On March 17th, 1703, Philippe, King of the French, passes away in his sleep. He dies the way he lived: content, far from his nagging wife, and in the arms of a strong male companion.

Philippe VIII, already in France visiting his younger sister and brother in law (Duke of Lorraine), quickly moves to Versailles with his wife, sister and brother in law.   The funeral of Philippe VII is a quiet affair, mainly as there was always a hint of scandal about him, but formal and meets all the rules.  The formal coronation is quickly planned for the week after Easter (April 5 to be specific) and all of the higher nobility of France and Naples will be expected to attend, as well as lesser members of the 1st and 2nd Estates General

The first action the new King takes however is to place his brother in law (the Duke of Lorraine) as regent of Naples until a new Dauphin is born.

Thus two young men begin ruling France and Naples....

Duke of Lorraine
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold,_Duke_of_Lorraine

[Galveston Bay]

The Commonwealth quietly inquires about the possibility of using Martinique as a port of call for anti-piracy patrols in the near future.

As Martinique is a fortress, the French government will allow English convoys to assemble there, and indeed allows English and Irish ships to travel with the annual March Convoy that leaves French Atlantic ports (and assembles off Lorient) as well as sail with French escort up the Atlantic coast as French warships sail from the Caribbean to Florida to Canada every summer before returning home just as Fall begins

[Galveston Bay]

Alarmed by the Financial Crisis with the banking system, and also having won the Barbary War, the Crown ends wartime taxation for 1703

Income: 47

Military Maintenance 25.3
purchase 2 BatRons from Ottoman Navy (5 points of 10, rest next year plus 3 points to get them ready for sea effective in Spring 1703) 8 points
purchase 4 CruRons from Naples Navy (5 points, see Naples income)
subtotal military spending:  38.3 points

Additional Income: 5 points from Ireland for sale of French Virgin Islands (see above and geography thread)
47 + 5 = 52 - military spending 38.3 = 13.7 points available


Two loans were taken out during the war (20 points) and last year only partial interest was paid (1.15 points).   Additional interest for last year .35 points plus interest on 20 points (3 points) = 3.35 points interest plus 4 points principal paid = 7.35 points

It is hoped that this infusion of Royal payments into the financial system will help offset some of the uncertainty in the financial system.

6.35 points available
economic expansion: trading posts at Miami (South Florida) and Tampa (South Florida)
buyouts of French plantation owners in French Guiana .15 points
bonuses to French Naval officers for services during the Barbary War .15 points
additional funds for extra hospitality to Le Havre Conference attendees .05 points

borrow 2 points (year 3 loan) to keep construction underway for 4 CruRons (8 points total of 18 total, year 2 of 4)

Debt as of 1704 will be 18 points total (4 points of 22 paid)

Amended build Fall 1703
2 points from English purchase of Leeward Islands are received and they are applied to debt principal, reducing the 1701 and 1702 loans each down by 1 point

1701 Loan is now down to 6.5 points, 1702 Loan is now down to 8 point and 1703 loan is at 1.5 points (16 points total)

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