Re: The Kingdom of France

[Galveston Bay]

1727
With relations with Spain, already poor and getting worse, the Crown orders further military expansion and authorizes further borrowing.

income 62.41
military maintenance 32.25
available 37.86
1725 loan 19/20 points, 1 point principal plus1.33 = 2.33
1726 loan 20/20 points, 1 point principal plus 1.4 = 2.4
loan servicing total 4.73
available 33.13

economic expansion (2.13 points)
Resettlement  convict shipment
ship 1,000 convicts (Protestants, Jews and some Catholics) to Reunion (700 will be alive at the end of the year) (importation of slaves is ended on Reunion and is not an option in Natal)
ship 1,000 convicts (all Catholics) to Philippia/Louisiana (600 survive the year)
total cost .3
Gifts to Native American Tribes .7
road improvements in France 1
road improvements in Quebec .13
available 29 points

Naval construction (8 points)
naval construction 4 x BB2 (Hercule, Ajax, Achille, Hector)(year 3 of 6, 4 points, 12 of 24) at Brest Naval Yard
naval construction 4 x BB2 (Roland, Charles Martel, Alexandre, Cesar)(year 3 of 6, 4 points, 12 of 24) at Marseille Naval Yard
available 21 points

Army expansion 21 plus 20 point loan = 41 points
complete fortress on Guadalupe 2 points (4 of 4)
raise 5 infantry brigades (20 points)
raise 3 light infantry brigades (9 points)
raise 1 engineer brigade (5 points)
raise 1 cavalry brigade (5 points)

[Galveston Bay]

addendum 1727 build
20 point loan from England used to raise 5 light infantry brigades (1 each Rennes, Orleans Fontainebleu, Poiters, Paris) 15 points), 1 cavalry brigade (at Samaur)(5 points)

[Galveston Bay]

Summer 1727
Once again France is at war, and the Court is abuzz as it is very clear that for the King at least this is about revenge on Genoa, which had the gall to attack France and Savoy during the Lanteran War.    As well as a chance to annex Corsica while the Spanish and Austrians are fighting the Turk and thus busy.

Wartime taxes are announced but they will not go into effect until 1728.

[Galveston Bay]

1728
With war declared and being waged, taxes are increased to pay for that, although that tax money is mainly funneled into debt repayment.  The French military buildup continues

Income 67.77 (includes wartime taxes)
military maintenance 36.85
available 30.85
English loan 1727 20 points (interest 1.4 plus principal 5 = 6.4)
Loan 1727 20 point (interest 1.4 plus principal 5 = 6.4)
Loan 1726 19 point (interest 1.33 plus principal 4= 5.33)
Loan 1725 18 point (interest 1.26 plus principal 3 = 4.26)
debt service 22.39
available 12.96
Naval construction (8 points)
naval construction 4 x BB2 (Hercule, Ajax, Achille, Hector)(year 4 of 6, 4 points, 16 of 24) at Brest Naval Yard
naval construction 4 x BB2 (Roland, Charles Martel, Alexandre, Cesar)(year 4 of 6, 4 points, 16 of 24) at Marseille Naval Yard
economic expansion (1.96 points)
Resettlement  convict shipment
ship 1,000 convicts (Protestants, Jews and some Catholics) to Reunion (700 will be alive at the end of the year) (importation of slaves is ended on Reunion and is not an option in Natal)
ship 1,000 convicts (all Catholics) to Philippia/Louisiana (600 survive the year)
total cost .3
Gifts to Native American Tribes .7
road improvements in France .96
available 3 points
upgrade 3 light infantry brigades to 3 infantry brigades (Brest, Bergerac, Nancy)

[TLS]

Le roi est mort, vive le roi!

February 11, 1728

Philip VIII, the indomitable monarch who has navigated the French ship of state through its most tumultuous period in a century, throws an extravagant Mardi gras ball to celebrate his victory over the Genoese.  Though it is not a magnificent victory over a mighty foe, it is a victory nonetheless.  The Carnival spirit takes over Paris--for once, the King indulges Catholic splendor!--and a general joie de vivre engulfs the Court and City alike.  The King, a distant figure known for his cool calculus rather than his affable mannerisms, is even seen rubbing elbows with the nobility, and the mutual animosity between the two seems to melt away.  He returns to his study late in the evening, and gathers his closest advisors about him, almost manic in his energies.  First Genoa, then the world!  The drinking and plotting continues until the late hours of the night (or early hours of the morning) until he retires to his chambers to take comfort in the arms of his mistress, the duchesse de Falari.

The next morning, his servants come into the quarters to find the duchesse and King still in bed.  They throw open the blinds, awakening the duchesse, who rolls over to prod her lover to rise in time for the Ash Wednesday service.  Expecting him to be reticent and obstinate, at first she thinks nothing of his unresponsiveness.  As she gains fuller control of her faculties, however, she notes he is both colder and paler than she quite remembered.  A shriek fills the halls of the palace, and courtiers pour into the room.  The royal doctor is summoned and a courtier is sent to fetch the dauphin Henri, who (unlike his father) is already at services some ways away from the palace.  As he walks out from the church, Ashes prominently on his forehead and chatting aimlessly with a few nobles, a frenzied horseman urgently summons him.  Whispering the news in his ears, the horseman dismounts and the dauphin takes the steed, running it back to the palace.  He thunders up the steps into his father's chambers only to be met by the assembled privy council, the doctor, the Queen (the mistress has been ushered away), and the King's personal priest (who has not seen his charge for spiritual counsel in some years). All eyes turn to him as the proclamation is proclaimed--the King is dead, long live the King!

[Galveston Bay]

February 1728
Henri is a young man of 19 at the time of his fathers death but has spent years in military and academic training.   He is yet unmarried, although of course not sexually inexperienced.  

A series of meetings of the Privy Council are held.  His first move is to announce that his mother is appointed to that Council as special advisor to the King.   A funeral is planned, although it is to be a low key affair for his father, and per his fathers wishes, King Philip VIII will be entombed at Brest to be near his beloved Navy.   A temporary burial site will be on the grounds of the Marine Barracks there until a more suitable tomb can be built for him.  Only family, a small number of naval and army officers, and a handful of local people are at the actual funeral.  

This is a major departure and highly unusual, as normally the Kings of France are buried at the Cathedral of St Denis.  But King Philippe VII was an unusual King and so only a monument will be placed at the Cathedral.    A formal memorial service will be held at St Denis however, which is considered the official funeral.  

The next step is that orders which had been delivered to the Fleet for its operations in 1728 are immediately countermanded.   Instead of a cruise to the Caribbean, this year the Fleet will remain in home waters.  

Within a few days, announcements are sent throughout France that the status of all of the Kings Subjects remains unchanged from that of King Philippe.   In other words, the rights of Protestants and Jews remain safe.  

The financial community is informed that French loans will continue to be repaid.

For now France intends no changes in its relations with foreign nations.   Corsica is sent an additional note saying that previous French offers of recognition and friendship remain in force.

[Galveston Bay]

Meanwhile the King now needs a wife.  Originally it had been planned for him to wait until he was 21, but as one of the principal duties of the King is to produce an heir, a wife must be found.  

His father had insisted that all of his children marry a member of the Chevalier class and Henri announces he will follow his fathers wishes, as will his brother when that time comes.  

A special census is ordered to find the names and locations of the appropriate young women between the ages of 16-19 who are in France, along with the state of their health and education.   The local Parlements asked to conduct this census and also asked for recommendations both for himself and for his brother.  Young women who are so recommended will then be asked to send a letter of introduction to the King if they are willing.

[Lefty]

King-Elector Augustus sends the newly crowned King Henri a personal letter of condolences for the passing of his father, and wishes of good fortunes for Henri’s future reign.

[Galveston Bay]

Spring 1728
With peace looking likely in southern Europe and the Mediterranean, the French Army and French Navy are ordered to their normal peacetime garrison and base locations. The Engineer brigade is converted into a garrison brigade, with its specialists officers reassigned to the Engineer School or put to work on civil improvements.

[Hussam B.]

A small Spanish delegation is dispatched to the French court, quietly seeking the restoration of diplomatic correspondence and presence and offering condolences over the passing of the previous French King.

[Galveston Bay]

A small Spanish delegation is dispatched to the French court, quietly seeking the restoration of diplomatic correspondence and presence and offering condolences over the passing of the previous French King.

While not received warmly, the Spanish are treated politely and the forms are followed. France is willing to return to formal and normal diplomatic relations. Once the details are hammered out, a French Ambassador is sent to Madrid.

(new French Ambassador, as the King likes Voltaire more than this guy and its a good excuse to send Rohan-Chabot someplace to keep him out of trouble)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Auguste_de_Rohan-Chabot

[Galveston Bay]

At the request of the King, the crown offers to subsidize a trip by Voltaire to Germany to watch the new Imperial election as the Crown would be interested in his views and a work on the subject.

[Galveston Bay]

1729
Although war is likely in the near future, for now France has returned to peacetime levels of spending and continues to pay down its debt.   Economic expansion in the empire begins again,as the French plants new colonies in the Western Gulf of Mexico and in the South Atlantic

Income 62.41  (includes wartime taxes)
military maintenance 28.71
available
English loan 1727 15 points (interest 1.05 plus 5 principal) 6.05
Loan 1727 15 point (interest 1.05 plus 1 principal) 2.05
Loan 1726 15 point (interest 1.05 plus 1 principal) 2.05
Loan 1725 15 point (interest 1.05 plus 1 principal) 2.05
debt service 4.2 plus 8 = 12.2
available 16.51
Naval construction (9 points)
naval construction 4 x BB2 (Hercule, Ajax, Achille, Hector)(year 5 of 6, 4 points, 20 of 24) at Brest Naval Yard
naval construction 4 x BB2 (Roland, Charles Martel, Alexandre, Cesar)(year 5 of 6, 4 points, 20 of 24) at Marseille Naval Yard
naval construction 2 x PatRon (1 point, one each Bordeaux, Lille)
economic expansion (1.51)
Resettlement  convict shipment
ship 1,000 convicts (Protestants, Jews and some Catholics) to Reunion (700 will be alive at the end of the year) (importation of slaves is ended on Reunion and is not an option in Natal)
ship 1,000 convicts (all Catholics) to Philippia/Louisiana (600 survive the year)
total cost .3
Gifts to Native American Tribes .7
road improvements in France .51
outpost South Atlantic 3 points
outpost western Gulf of Mexico 3 points

[Galveston Bay]

Creation of the Defense Council Fall 1714
After reviewing the events of the war, King Philippe VIII decides that reform is needed.  He puts much of the blame on himself, but he has also vowed that France will never be so weak again.  To that end he summons to Orleans what he intends to be a permanent body of counselors to devise a defense policy for the Realm, specifically regarding the organization and improvement of the Army and the Navy.

Members
The Chancellor of France
The Secretaries of State for War, Foreign Affairs, Navy,
the Controller of Finances
Lieutenant General of Police (of Paris) who is promoted to Constable of France (and now heads all police in France)
Dukes of the Realm (Royal and Great Nobles)
The Princes of the Realm (Royal and Great Nobles)
Marshals of France (includes Eugene of Savoy as a Marshal of France and as Duke)
Major Generals of Infantry, Engineers, Artillery, Cavalry (branch chiefs)
Vice Admirals of the Fleet (and higher)
Colonial Governors (when visiting France)

the Defense Council will meet once a year for 2-6 weeks, longer if needed.  For the first meeting the Army and Navy are required to provide battle reports, campaign logs, and a full accounting of losses, current state of their services, and immediate needs.

The first meeting is to be held on June 30, 1715 and reports are expected at that time.

December 1728
King Henri V meets with the Defense Council for the first time as its chair instead of as an observer. The Imperial Election of 1728 and the general situation in Europe is the primary item of discussion and several days of meetings occur..

[Galveston Bay]

A love match
During the fall of 1728, several young woman begin writing to King Henri as requested by their local Parliaments. The young woman that catches the Kings eye the most, in letters, is a certain Mlle Jacqueline Marie Madeline Clermont-Crèvecoeu, a cousin of the aristocratic family of the same name from the Oise region of France. Princess Charlotte, the Kings favorite sister, soon travels to Compeigne to meet with the young woman and takes a liking to her.

Soon a 12th Night Ball is arranged for January 5, 1729, and among those in attendance is King Henri, where he meets the young woman.

They get along well and soon after in early March, the King seeks formal permission from the young womans father to court her formally.

[Galveston Bay]

Compeigne Forest May 1729
With the crisis and war with Spain averted, King Henri returns to his pursuit of a queen and decides that a hunting trip to the Forest of Compiegne is worth a few weeks away from his normal routine.

As always, a large assembly of nobles, advisors, soldiers, servants and various hangers on comes with him, and the city of Compiegne is full of visitors.

The most important other visitor is Jacqueline Clermont-Crèvecoeu, and of course her mother and various servants, who have been requested to attend and participate in the Royal Hunt. Henri and Jacqueline get along very well, indeed perhaps too much so, as they manage to find time and privacy for an assignation.

In early July, Jacqueline begins to feel unwell in the mornings, and it is soon determined that she is with child. A quick letter from her mother to the Kings sister results, and soon after the King announces his upcoming marriage, and that will be a private affair to be held at a hunting lodge in the Forest of Compiegne.

On July 11, 1729 Henri V marries Jacqueline. A formal and public coronation for the new queen (who is not noticeably pregnant with artful dress) is held on August 20, 1729 in Notre Dame Cathedral. Many remark on how radiant she appears.

[Galveston Bay]

July 1729
The frigate Legere, en route from Caronville to Reunion, is presumably lost at sea when it fails to reach the island colony.  Wreckage is found near Lambertia (Port Elizabeth) by English settlers and reported to the French representative there.

News reaches France in October, and already concerned about the age of some of the major warships in the Navy, the Crown orders a full inspection of all warships for excessive wear. 

OOC
the first of many ships to be lost to Rogue Waves in the Mombassa Channel over the next few centuries.  Rogue waves can reach 50-100 feet in these waters during the Southern Hemisphere winter

(also this takes care of my naval attrition for a while)

[Galveston Bay]

France 1729
With the new colony of French Texas opening up, the Crown begins discussions with the Church (and the Protestants too) about resettling some of the over 100,000 homeless and impoverished (its 250,000 by 1789) peasants who are lacking even a home village on this new territory. 

In other news, the Crown announces that the Queen is pregnant in September 1729.

[Galveston Bay]

October 1729
The Crown orders a full census of France, as well as non indigenous people living in French colonies and territories.  Those of mixed race are to be considered non indigenous for this purpose.   A good estimate of local native populations is also to be taken.

Not only are the people to be counted, but who owns what land and how much they own is to be established, as well as draft animals, ships, wagons, slaves and other moveable valuable property.

As part of the effort to keep the new colonies of Texas and the Falkland Islands available for poor French settlers, the importation of slaves from Africa or the Caribbean is forbidden in these territories. 

A sales tax is also to be placed on the sale of slaves, as the Crown recognizes this an a source of untapped taxation.

[Galveston Bay]

1730
With the chances of war markedly reduced after agreement is reached with the Wittelsbachs, France begins to look at further development of its extensive colonial territories. Another settlement is authorized for Texas at the Neches River, while a fortress is ordered built to defend Isle de Sable.

Income 62.41  (includes peacetime taxes)
military maintenance 28.71
available
English loan 1727 10 points (interest .7 plus 5 principal) 5.7
Loan 1727 13 point (interest .91 plus 1 principal) 1.91
Loan 1726 13 point (interest .91 plus 1 principal) 1.91
Loan 1725 13 point (interest .91 plus 5 principal) 5.91
debt service 3.43 plus 12 = 15.43
available 13.28
Naval construction (8 points)
naval construction 4 x BB2 (Hercule, Ajax, Achille, Hector)(year 6 of 6, 4 points, 24 of 24) at Brest Naval Yard
naval construction 4 x BB2 (Roland, Charles Martel, Alexandre, Cesar)(year 6 of 6, 4 points, 24 of 24) at Marseille Naval Yard

economic expansion (1.51)
Resettlement  convict shipment
ship 1,000 convicts (Protestants, Jews and some Catholics) to Reunion (700 will be alive at the end of the year) (importation of slaves is ended on Reunion and is not an option in Natal)
ship 1,000 convicts (all Catholics) to Philippia/Louisiana (600 survive the year)
total cost .3
Gifts to Native American Tribes .7
road improvements in France .43
outpost Beaumont Texas 3 points
begin construction Fortress Isle de Sable (OTL Galveston) 2 points (year 1 of 2)

[Galveston Bay]

Winter 1730
On January 20, 1730, the Crown announces the birth of Prince Henri Philippe.  Mother and child are reported to be in good health.  

The new prince survives the critical few weeks of life, and the mother recovers as well.   Henri Philippe is christened at Poiters Cathedral, which was built by another Henri (Henry II of England)

Bells ring throughout France as the line of succession continues...

[Galveston Bay]

1731
Peace continues in Western Europe and even the colonies are quiet. However with the completion of 8 new BB2s, there is still a need to keep employment going at the shipyards and the first reports from the Navy is that the majority of the frigate fleet is over 30 years old or more, and in need of replacement.   An expedition is ordered to explore the great Missouri River which from reports goes deep into the Great Plains of North America and is rumored to begin somewhere in the mountains beyond.  Expansion into Texas continues. 

Income 24.36 home + 12 commercial + 25.75 = 62.11 (includes peacetime taxes)
military maintenance
available
English loan 1727 5 points (interest .35 + 5 principle) 5.35
Loan 1727 12 point (interest .84 + 2) 2.84
Loan 1726 12 point (interest .84 + 2) 2.84
Loan 1725 8 point (interest .56 + 2) 2.56
debt service 13.59

Naval construction (6 points)
naval construction 4 x FF (Seine, Loire, Marne, Orne)(year 1 of 4, 3 points, 3 of 12) at Brest Naval Yard
naval construction 4 x FF (Somme, Mississippi, St Lawrence, Aisne)(year 1 of 4, 3 points, 3 of 12) at Marseille Naval Yard

economic expansion (7.57)
Resettlement  convict shipment
ship 2,000 convicts to French Florida (survival rate is 50%)(scores escape to Irish Florida annually)
total cost .3
Gifts to Native American Tribes .7
road improvements in France 1.17
continue construction Fortress Isle de Sable (OTL Galveston) 2 points , 4 of 4 (year 2 of 2)
available 4 points
Missouri River expedition 1 point
trading post Nacogdoches (Texas) 3 points

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