The sun never sets on the British Empire

[molesworth]

Game details: Civ III Conquests (version 1.00)
Map: Rhyes Earth 134x 130 (modified)
Difficulty: Warlord
Starting civs: 16
Selected civ: England

The modifications I have made for this scenario can be seen in the screenshot of the load scenario page below. In addition I have edited oil to appear in certain coastal areas with the discovey of refining. This is to simulate offshore oil in the real world.

My objective in playing this game is to recreate the British Empire as geographically accurately as possible. I also want to retain control over all those territories in 2050 and to win on points if nothing else. As such I am not interested in winning the space race or a UN victory unless other civs are threatening to do so.

We join the game in 1940 just after I have declared war on India in order to take over and raze a city they had built in the Nile delta. Annoyingly, it was not in a suitable location to act as a canal city. Therefore I built Alexandria to act as a conduit for the Suez Canal - see the screenshot "Suez situation" below.

With my cities down the East coast of Africa and in Australasia I deemed it essential to have control of a canal city through the Nile delta so that my ships have the option of taking a shorter route between the Mother country and the Dominions if necessary. To ensure their unhindered progress through the Red Sea my next objective is take over the Indian city of Indus on the horn of Africa (see screenshot below).

The dominant civilisation in the world at the moment is the Celts. In medieval times they drove the Germans out of continental Europe confining them to a single island city in the Atlantic. The Portugese suffered a similar fate. A century or two ago The Celts swept through Africa razing French cities as they went. At the time the French were the dominant civilisation in Africa. The English had a few long established cities around the coast of Africa. I had hoped to take advantage of the situation to colonise the interior of Africa. However the French AI was too fast and soon flooded the area with settlers allowing France to make something of a resurgence from what must have near obliteration by the Celts.

 

[Tani Coyote]

A very unique thread indeed! Since the New Imperialism period is so interesting to me, I'll be watching. : )

Good luck kicking the French out of East Africa. o.o;

 

[Dezzilisk]

This looks set to be an entertaining read....

Just a suggestion, if you use the IMG tags when attaching your pictures eg.

, then the images can be spaced out throughout the post and much larger in appearance....makes for a much easier read (No clicking on thumbnails).

Looking forward to more!

 

[AutomatedTeller]

You just wanted the oil to appear? I assume you can't use it, right, because you can't build a road to it.

 

[kingfire87]

Extremely intriguing. *Subscription.*

 

[molesworth]

Thanks for your interest in this story. I will post an update soon. In the meantime I would like to respond to your comments;

use the IMG tags when attaching your pictures

Thanks Dezzilisk, I was wondering how to do that!

the New Imperialism period is so interesting to me

Interesting reponse Taniciusfox, what exactly is meant by "the New Imperialism period? It is not a subject I have come across before.

You just wanted the oil to appear?

Yes, that's right AutomatedTeller. Offshore oil and how to make it appear in city resource boxes has been discussed in other threads (it could only be done by imaginative use of "roads" that can be built in sea tiles to act as pipelines). When I created and started playing my mod | was not aware of this. Still, the "offshore oil" I have added does give extra commerce in the tile if it is worked. It appears with Refining as does normal oil. With hindsight I would have made it a new resource that appears with Minituarization as in reality offshore platforms are needed to exploit this resource.

 

[molesworth]

The next action my forces will engage in is with one Indian Veteran Cavalry that has landed just north of Dar-es-Salaam. This shoud be a pushover as I have two regular swords and a longbowman stationed there as well as infantry for defensive purposes. The obsolete units have been reatined for just such an eventuality.

Notice that the French capital has moved to Khurasan. Paris is in continental Europe albeit not in its historical location. It has been in Celtic hands for decades now.

To achieve my aim of recreating and retaining the British Empire I must consider two unpalatable objectives in Australia.

I colonised most of the Australian continent with English settlers in medieval times having driven out the barbarians that were the previous sole occupants (no civ had a start in Australia). However the French managed to establish Bordeaux before my culture expanded or I could get a settler there. Likewise, the Celts got onto Tasmania before me. These are unpalatable objectives because taking Bordeaux by force must entail war with France and an inevitable upheaval in Africa. War with the Celts over Tasmania is even less appealing as they are far and away the most powerful civ on Earth.

Meanwhile I must decide the limits of my objectives in the war with India. Will I settle for taking their city on the Horn of Africa or take the war to the Indian mainland in an attempt to establish the Raj? My own long term objective must call for the latter.

 

[Tani Coyote]

The New Imperialism is the period of about 1850 - 1918. It was named for 3 reasons:

1) It was a second Imperial Period, the first was the colonisation of the New World. Since that area had become independent, this new outburst of conquest(which was centered on the Old World instead of the New, Monroe doctrine and such) is referred to as the New Imperialism.

2) New competitors. Germany, Italy, Russia, Japan, Belgium and the United States competed for colonial empires, alongside old powers like Britain and France.

3) Informal Empire to Formal Empire. While originally the Europeans did not do much to directly rule the world(with the exception of India), in this period they carved up the globe and ruled it from home, instead of through threat of force and extortion. Hence the annexation of most of Africa.