TOTAL WAR WIKI

Military

Plug Bayonet

Enables infantry to fix bayonets in battle

A plug bayonet turns a musket into a crude spear or half-pike by plugging the muzzle with a blade handle, like a cork into a bottle.

At one time "marching regiments" were composed of musketeers and pikemen. The pikes provided protection for the musketeers while they slowly reloaded and in the event of a cavalry attack. In a melee the musketeers reversed their guns and used them as clubs, or dropped them and drew swords. Neither solution was ideal, and equipping half a unit with pikes also halved its potential firepower. As muskets became lighter and no longer needed a firing rest, it became practical to attach a blade to the muzzle, giving the user a better-than-makeshift weapon in melee.

Ramming a blade, hilt first, into the muzzle is a practical solution. The soldier then has a short pike to fend off cavalry, and use in hand-to-hand combat. The drawbacks are that it is often difficult to remove the plug bayonet once used in anger and resume firing, the user cannot reload – and only a fool fires a gun when the barrel is blocked!

Historically, muskets with plug bayonets were the equivalent of short pikes, and old-fashioned pike drill applied: men advanced with their muskets held shoulder high, and levelled at the enemy.

Carbines

Enables carbines. This allows the recruitment of carbine-wielding cavalry units

A carbine is a smoothbore musket, lighter than a standard infantry weapon, for use by cavalrymen.

An infantry musket fires a ball about the width of a man's thumb: a pound of lead is melted down to make about 10 or 12 rounds. A carbine fires a smaller ball: some 15-17 rounds from the same amount of lead. This smaller bullet does slightly reduce its killing potential, but the reduction in recoil when fired from horseback is welcome. A carbine is, however, just as long as a regular infantry musket, something that makes it awkward to reload while mounted. A carbine is often fitted with a sling-and-swivel to attach it to a cavalryman's shoulder belt, so that it cannot be lost while riding at speed.

Historically, there was some debate over whether or not regiments of horse should be equipped with firearms at all. John Churchill, the Duke of Marlborough, favoured cavalry using cold steel against the enemy. He felt that the morale impact of a cavalry charge was more important than any marginal increase in firepower. As a result, his cavalrymen received a tiny allocation of three rounds apiece – for the whole of a campaign season, not each battle!

Ring Bayonet

Enables ring bayonets. These replace plug bayonets

This long blade has a ring which fits round the outside of a musket barrel, allowing the weapon to be fired while it is attached.

The ring bayonet serves to turn a musket into a short, and rather heavy, pike. This is considerably more threatening to enemies than using the weapon as a clumsy club in a hand-to-hand fight. The bayonet is a push fit, and it is the tightness of the ring around the bayonet that keeps it in place, most of the time. Ring bayonets can be pulled off in the heat of combat by becoming wedged in enemy flesh, and they can be pushed back along the barrel. They are, however, a considerable advance over the plug bayonet.

There is some dispute over the origin of the ring bayonet, and it may be the case that several military men in different countries developed it at almost the same time. Its advantage over the plug bayonet – the user could still give fire – made sure that it was popular. A ring bayonet was not offset from the barrel, making it awkward to reload a musket with one fitted.

Square Formation

+2% upkeep costs for infantry units

Enables infantry square formation

Enhances national prestige

A defensive posture for musket-armed infantry units, creating an impassable wall of steel to fend off cavalry attacks.

As the name suggests, this is four two- or three-rank lines of infantry arranged as a hollow square, with everyone facing outwards. It is a version of the obsolete pike "hedgehog", making any cavalry charge a suicidal exercise. Bayonets are fixed to muskets when appropriate and possible.

Forming a square requires good order in the ranks. The outer companies of an infantry unit in line have to "fold back" to form the sides and back of the square, without losing cohesion in the process. The unit colours take up station in the centre, a final rallying point should the square be broken. It is also possible to form larger squares with more than one unit.

The square is, of course, a tempting target for enemy artillery. Whether it is better to form square in the face of cavalry and risk an artillery barrage, or stay in line to mitigate artillery fire and risk a cavalry charge can be a tactical conundrum!

Theoreticians argued infantry could defeat a cavalry charge by firepower alone. Brigadier General Richard Kane (later Military Governor of Gibraltar) remarked, "If a body of Foot have but Resolution and keep their Order, there is no Body of Horse dare adventure within their Fire..." but for him that fire was to be delivered from a square, not a line. He was arguing for discipline as the key to success.

Military Syllabus

-3% recruitment cost for all land units

Enhances national prestige

Enables building of:

Drill School

This is a formal system of studies for all young gentlemen seeking a career and success as senior military officers.

While gifted amateurism and the minor gentry's natural leadership and impressive shouting can do wonders at regimental level, for higher level commands a military education is a necessity. There are matters of co-operation between the different arms of infantry, cavalry and artillery; there are considerations of supply, intelligence, military engineering, politics and grand strategy. These are not trivial subjects, and require some study if they are to be useful to a general officer. A military syllabus approaches these matters in an organised way, and sets out a programme of study for a gentleman to undertake. At the very least, the reading list will keep the less cerebral officers from attaining high rank!

The development of a system of military education aided the creation of a centralised army staff, as it produced the professional officers needed to carry out the necessary duties. In many countries, professionalism was often viewed with deep suspicion, because it challenged the idea of the nobility and propertied classes having an automatic right to command. Talent and proper training could trump the settled and natural order of things!

Wedge Formation

Enables cavalry wedge formation

A cavalry formation used to break through an enemy line by shock and impact.

There are many conflicting schools of thought with regard to the proper use of cavalry, not least the matter of how to attack the enemy. There are those officers who hold that fire is the proper weapon for a cavalry soldier: that the carbine and pistol are the correct weapons of a horseman. There are also those who maintain that the proper role of cavalry is to close with the enemy and attack them with cold steel: the sabre, sword and lance.

The wedge formation is a product of the second group of theorists. By forming units into a narrow wedge, a charge can bring the maximum weight of effort against the smallest possible section of an enemy line. In theory, the attack should be able to force its way into and then through the target, breaking it in the process and spreading chaos in the enemy ranks.

Historically, this tactic was not without its appeal to educated officers, who studied the military history of the Romans and Greeks. Alexander the Great had used such a tactic, and if it was good enough for him...

European Doctrine

Enhances national prestige

The European way of organising armies and training soldiers is fashionable because it has been successful on the battlefield.

The wholesale adoption of a completely new military model in troop types, drill, tactics, deployment, strategy, supply, fortifications and force organisation is a wrenching change for any Medieval or Renaissance-style army. The military “doctrine” of European powers is not so much a formalised approach to the business of making war, but a collection of practical solutions that have been found to work in many battles in many wars on many continents. From basic ideas such as the equipment carried by an infantryman, to sophisticated concepts of star fortifications, European methods have been forged in the crucible of war!

Historically, the Ottoman Empire had an army that was old fashioned, even in 1700. The “New Soldiers” of the janissary corps had ossified military thinking in a very conservative fashion, and intended to keep fighting as they had done for centuries. The rest of the world had moved on. A military treaty with Revolutionary France (a nation desperate for allies) began the process of updating the Ottomans’ “new model army”, based on then-current Western military thinking.

Available for:

Socket Bayonet

Enables socket bayonets. These replace ring bayonets

Enhances national prestige

Enables building of:

Military Academy

A blade fitted with a collar that attaches to a musket barrel and then locks in place, turning the weapon into a useful short pike.

The socket bayonet is a development of earlier bayonets, and corrects their defective methods of attaching the blade to the musket. Previous design simply jammed the bayonet into the barrel or relied on the tight fit around the barrel. The socket bayonet has a collar with an L-shaped slot that fits over a lug on barrel, and then turns to lock it in place. The blade is also offset from the barrel centreline, so that a soldier can still fire and then reload his piece without cutting off his own fingers!

Historically, this improvement has stood the test of time. Socket bayonets are still issued for modern rifles and carbines, and still used in combat. The "twist and lock" mechanism is still used for civilian purposes as diverse light bulbs and vacuum cleaner tubes. There is, however, no really satisfactory explanation as to why the French military decided to offset the bayonet above the barrel, right into the sight line of the user!

Cadenced Marching

Improves campaign map movement speed

Enhances national prestige

Enables recruitment of:

Royal Welch Fusiliers

Marching to a beat unifies the movement of soldiers, and makes it possible to more accurately measure pace.

Originally drums were not carried onto the battlefield to provide musical accompaniment to the business of killing. They were there as a "repeater" system for the shouted orders, as it was obvious that a single voice would be lost in the murderous hubbub of battle. However, it was soon realised that a regular beat was useful in teaching men how to load, present and fire their muskets. From that idea it is a short step to making sure that soldiers are trained to do everything to a regular beat, including marching. Drummers, originally intended only to beat a coded tattoo for particular orders, can also keep time for a whole regiment. With cadenced marching, a unit no longer ambles to its destination, it steps out with determination! A cunning colonel can even up the pace and have his men cover more ground by having the drummers beat a little faster!

Historically, many colonels of infantry regiments did pay for bands out of their own pockets, knowing that music could lift the spirits of "the lads" as surely as a bottle of gin.

Fire by Rank

+6% upkeep costs for infantry units

Enables line infantry fire by rank firing drill

This firing pattern for infantry units produces a barrage of musketry by having each rank, or line of men, fire in turn.

By careful timing, it is possible for a constant fire to be maintained for, as soon as one rank has fired, it begins reloading. By the time other ranks in the unit have fired in their turn, all men should be reloaded and ready to give fire once more. This requires a good level of discipline and obedience, as each rank must listen only to orders from the relevant officers and sergeants. The drill involved in loading a smoothbore musket must also be mastered by every man in the unit. Carried out correctly, the result is a series of volleys that give enemies no respite from a hail of musket balls!

Historically, it was usual for units to draw up in formations three ranks deep, this being considered the "best" compromise between weight of fire and ease of control. Deeper formations were tried, but there was always a risk to men in the forward ranks from careless shots from the rearmost ranks – men were shot in the back by inexperienced comrades. Of course, this firing pattern also meant that only one man in three was ever loaded and ready to fire at any given time.

New Model Bayonet Drill

+3 to charge bonus for bayonet-equipped units

Enhances national prestige

Enables recruitment of:

Royal Deux-Ponts Regiment

A drill which has been refined to formalise the latest fashions in bayonet usage, making for a more effective melee attack.

The first bayonets did a fine job of providing musketeers with the equivalent of a short pike to use in an emergency. Because they were pike replacements, the drills used were largely based on the well-known and understood pike drills. Now, however, bayonets are seen as something more than substitute pikes, something that pragmatic soldiers discovered for themselves. New books are emerging, advocating a new fashion of bayonet drill: holding the bayonet-carrying musket at waist height, rather than advancing with it levelled at shoulder height. There is also an emphasis on the offensive use of the bayonet, carrying the fight to the enemy, rather than using it defensively to keep attackers at bay. In the thick of hand-to-hand fighting, however, many soldiers use their muskets as clubs, as the need to live takes precedence over formal training!

Historically, this development is the birth of the "spirit of the bayonet" and the belief in the efficacy of "cold steel" which was to last for the next two centuries in some armies.

Diamond Formation

Enables cavalry diamond formation. This replaces the wedge formation

An improved method for positioning and manoeuvring a cavalry unit, so that it may change direction with expedition.

A diamond formation, as the name suggests, is a way of employing all the men of a cavalry unit to best effect. Rather than being arranged as a simple wedge, point towards the enemy, the unit tapers off from its broadest point. Even though the riders may be knee-to-knee to maximise the shock of impact should a charge connect with a target, a diamond-formed unit can change direction quickly. This is not true with the earlier cavalry wedge, the members of which find any kind of wheeling turn difficult to execute.

Historically, the Swedes were among the leaders in European cavalry tactics at the start of the 18th Century; King Charles XII was all in favour of closely packed, large cavalry formations as he believed that these could break the enemy by fear alone. There was debate among military men in other nations too: in Britain the Duke of Marlborough favoured his cavalry charging home with cold steel, rather than relying on fear or bullets to do their terrible work.

Reorganised Procurement

+6% upkeep costs for all army units

-3% recruitment costs for all land units

As armies grow in size and complexity, foraging and looting rarely support military operations for long periods. Supply must be put on a formal footing.

Traditionally, the colonel of each regiment is responsible for making sure that his men are adequately clothed and shod, and carry weapons and ammunition to see them through a campaign. However, as armies increase in size military officers actually begin to compete with each other for scarce resources, and this only serves to drive up prices - and the profits of the unscrupulous and unpatriotic. It also turns the centralised co-ordination of, and sharing of, campaign supplies into an administrative tangle. It is true that it does not matter if an army has many types of shoes, as long as everyone has a pair. But something as seemingly simple as a common size of cannon ball can become problematic if every colonel of every regiment is allowed to organise and order his own weapons.

In addition to laying down standards for drill and military evolutions, during the 18th Century the army staffs of various nations (such as they were) also began to sort out the tangle of supply. The whole business was, in many nations, riddled with corruption and preferential treatment for friends, with bribes and kickbacks as well. While a certain amount of putting money into friends' pockets was considered acceptable, there were limits.

Fire and Advance

Enables line infantry fire and advance drill

A tactic which allows a unit to move forward in sections, while enjoying the benefits of covering fire from its own men.

When using this evolution, infantry units do not advance as a solid mass, but divide into smaller groups, each of which then advances a short distance in turn. While a group is stationary, it loads and then discharges its muskets at the enemy, harassing them and covering the advance of their moving fellows. Overall, a unit advances more slowly because of the repeated stops made by its companies to fire, but the constant, though limited, fire maintained against the enemy is compensation enough.

This manoeuvre it demands a great deal of comradely loyalty from both officers and men, as each manoeuvring group relies of the fire of the other to keep the enemy at bay while it advances. Good discipline and weapons drill are also required, so that the stationary companies will always be ready to give fire when needed. Properly executed, it can be devastating and effective way of closing with the enemy.

The tactic has remained in use to the present day as a method of advance called "bounding overwatch", a particularly useful technique for armoured units where tanks give each other covering fire.

Light Infantry Doctrine

Enables advanced light infantry drill

"Being, in the main, a newly improved method of deployment for the correct use of light troops upon the field of battle..."

Skirmishers deploy as a screen ahead of the main battle line, usually as a widely spaced line of men. It is their job to harass the enemy line by peppering them with a few musket balls and scout for weaknesses. Most importantly, they must prevent the enemy from doing the same thing. They will not stop a serious enemy attack only delay it.

Advanced skirmishing requires a degree of intelligence from those in the ranks. They form small groups, spotting important targets in the enemy ranks and deliberately shooting them. For preference, enemy officers and sergeants are the main victims, as their loss causes confusion and doubt in the rank-and-file. Light infantry officers direct their men, rather than rigidly control them, leaving the brightest and best in the army to make their own kills.

Historically, light troops were hunters, poachers and the like, or the complete light companies from existing regiments gathered into a new unit. A few nations, such as Great Britain, chose to arm their elite skirmishers with rifles rather than smoothbore muskets.

Shortened Carbines

-5% to carbine reloading time

Shortened carbines are smoothbore muzzle-loading flintlocks, issued to cavalry units instead of ordinary muskets.

The carbine fires a lighter ball than an infantry musket: a pound of lead can make 15-17 rounds. Being handmade, these balls often have bubbles and other flaws in them, and can burst apart after hitting flesh, making far larger wounds than their apparent size would indicate.

Originally, a carbine had the same length barrel as an infantry musket. This made reloading while mounted rather difficult, and it was realised that cutting down the barrel would make for a handier weapon with only a small decrease in accuracy and killing power.

The term "carbine" is still in use: at the time of writing, the M4 carbine carried by US soldiers is a development of the M16, itself a shortened form of the AR-15 rifle designed in the late 1950s. The number of spherical bullets made from a pound of lead is also used today as a way of indicating the bore of shotguns: a 12-bore would fire a solid lead ball weighing around 1/12 of a pound.

Platoon Firing

Enables platoon firing drill

Enables building of:

Army Staff College

This firing plan for musketry ensures an infantry unit keeps up a continual barrage of shots against an enemy.

Nearly all line infantry carry smoothbore, muzzle-loading muskets. These take considerable time to reload after firing: anything up to a minute for poorly trained or nervous troops. During that time, the enemy can close or return fire unmolested. In the time it takes to reload, a unit can be cut down, its half-loaded weapons useless in the face of an aggressive foe. It is sensible to make sure that not everyone in an infantry unit is reloading at the same moment; this, in turn, means that not everyone should be firing at the same time.

Platoon fire is a way of dividing a unit into smaller groups that each fire, reload and fire again in turn. The result is a "rippling fire" down a line formation and, as the last platoon fires its muskets, the first is ready to fire again. A unit can always give some fire to the enemy at all times, even if this is less than a complete volley. When more than one unit is involved all the troops in every first platoon fire, followed by all the second platoons, and so on, creating several rippling barrages down the battle line.

The word "platoon" in this context does not have the modern meaning of being a sub-unit of a military company. Platoon assignment to what was a "fire group" was made on an ad hoc or informal basis, and could mean a whole regiment being assigned to a "platoon".

Machined Rifling

Enhances national prestige

Thanks to precision machinery, barrels can now have very accurate grooves for rifling, without troubling a master gunsmith to do the work.

Rifling in a barrel imparts a spin to a projectile, making it fly with greater accuracy once it leaves the barrel. Grooves are cut in a spiral helix pattern on the inner surface of the barrel, and this twist is what makes the bullet spin as it is fired. A lead bullet is actually distorted by the gunpowder explosion, and forced into the grooves.

Making such a barrel was a task for a highly skilled gunsmith, meaning that rifling was reserved for hunting rifles for the extremely wealthy and the nobility. A machine tool that can do the job means that rifled barrels can be turned out in some quantity, and that they will be the same time after time. The machine cuts one groove at a time, meaning that at least six or seven passes are required to properly rifle a barrel.

Historically, only the British fielded a large force of rifleman, armed with Ezekiel Baker's outstanding weapon.

Airguns

Enables recruitment of:

Windbüchse Jaegers

Rifles that use compressed air rather than gunpowder to propel bullets, airguns are almost silent in use and produce no muzzle flash or smoke.

There are two ways of powering an air gun: a pneumatic, pumped reservoir of air, or a spring-powered piston. The reservoir, which uses the muscles of the user to reach pressure, is by far the more reliable and practical mechanism. A piston requires very fine tolerances, making it too expensive and unreliable to manufacture. Given that any air gun is an expensive to make, it also makes sense to give them rifled barrels.

The Austrians were the only nation to employ airguns and with only partial success. The "Windbüchse" (wind rifle) was made by Girandoni (1744-1799), a gunsmith from the Tyrol. The weapon was accurate, quiet and quick firing, but too delicate for everyday use. It used a pneumatic system, fired a carbine-sized bullet, and had a 20-round integral magazine. An experienced user could fire off all 20 rounds in less than half a minute; a skilled rifleman would fire one round from a flintlock in that time. Cleverly, the reservoir was built into the stock, and could be removed independently from the magazine for recharging.

Available for:

Screw Breech

Enhances national prestige

Enables recruitment of:

Ferguson Riflemen

This cunning mechanism does away with the need to load a weapon by ramming charge and shot down the muzzle, making the whole business quicker.

Instead, a handle underneath the rear of the barrel causes a screw section of the breech to drop away, allowing the user to put a ball and a charge into the barrel. The handle is then turned back; the breech closes and seals the firing chamber. The gun then fires like any other flintlock. Better yet, the screw breech doesn’t require the user to stand in order to be able to use a ramrod to proper effect.

Historically, Major Patrick Ferguson (1744-1780) was the first to produce a practical military weapon with a screw breech. The mechanism was expensive to manufacture, so using it on a rifle was a sensible idea. In expert hands, Ferguson’s rifle was a superb weapon with a high rate of fire, but it was delicate compared to a flintlock. Ferguson’s tactics of skirmishing and sniping at the enemy didn’t fit the prevailing mind set of the British Army of the time. After Ferguson was wounded and no longer an advocate for his rifle or tactics, his unit was disbanded with unseemly haste.

Available for:

Percussion Cap

Requires the Percussion Shells technology.

-5% misfire chance for all gunpowder weapons

Enhances national prestige

Reduces the impact of rain on misfires

This small copper container holds a chemical mixture that reacts explosively when hit; the flash is used to ignite a main gunpowder charge.

A percussion piece has less to go wrong than a flintlock during firing: there is no flint to become loose; no need to charge the pan with loose powder and less to get wet in bad weather. Instead a small cap is fitted over the end of a small tube at the breech end of the barrel. The cap is filled with fulminate of mercury, a most volatile substance. When it is struck by the hammer it explodes, but in a small way. The flash travels down the tube and ignites the main charge of gunpowder, and the musket fires.

Historically, the percussion cap was the invention of a Scottish clergyman, Alexander John Forsyth (1769-1843), who was looking for a solution to a hunting problem. The flintlock's flash in the pan before the main charge fired alerted birds that they were about to be shot, causing them to fly away in a deucedly unsporting fashion. The newly discovered and very unstable fulminate of mercury gave him an invisible spark that didn't warn his feathered victims!

Ordnance

Canister Shot

Enables canister shot

Enables recruitment of:
12-lber Foot Artillery	18-lber Foot Artillery

Enables building of:

Ordnance Factory

This ammunition for cannons is a cylinder stuffed with musket bullets that bursts as soon as it leaves the gun barrel.

Any cannon can be turned into a giant shotgun using the appropriate size of round. Normal cannon balls are terrible enough when they hit, but they will usually only kill or injure a few men. Canister is a short-range weapon, and used as a last-ditch defence against a massed attack. The slaughter inflicted on nearby enemies can be fearsome indeed. Usually, canister shots are made of tin, which serves to keep everything together while it is rammed down the barrel, but is no impediment to bursting effect. It is not uncommon for artillery crews to load a canister shot on top of a normal cannon ball, if they have time, to maximise the killing power.

Canister is still used by armies today, and has been refined over the years: beehive rounds used flechettes (small darts) rather than round shot, but the principle is the same. The 120mm main gun on the modern US M1 Abrams tank is capable of firing canister ammunition, making it a 60-tonne armoured shotgun!

Improved Grenades

Improves the effectiveness of grenades

Enables recruitment of:

Hessian Grenadiers

Advances in ironwork and in the development of more reliable fuses can be applied to that most dangerous of hand-held weapons, the grenade.

Grenades are dangerous weapons to their user as well as enemies. Premature detonation is always a risk, one that will probably kill and certainly maim the grenadier and anyone else nearby. There is also the need for a grenadier to throw the grenade further than its explosive killing radius! By making the hollow case thinner and being careful with the powder composition in fuses, it is possible to make grenades slightly safer for the user.

Historically, grenadiers were the strongest and largest soldiers. It was rightly assumed that a big chap could throw a cricket ball (baseball) sized grenade at a distant enemy. The weigh of a dozen grenades in a pack was not a trivial load. Flintlock grenade throwers were developed: these had very short, wide barrels and used gunpowder to launch the grenade – a man-portable mini-mortar! The need to load a musket, light a fuse and fire at an enemy promptly before the grenade exploded made them tricky (and nerve-wracking) to use.

Explosive Shells

Enables explosive shells for howitzers and mortars

Enables building of:

Great Arsenal

Hollow projectiles, filled with gunpowder, which, by use of a timed fuse, explode near enemies.

Cannonballs are usually exactly that: solid lumps of iron (or stone, for some early weapons) that do damage on impact. They must hit the target to have an effect. Explosive shells, however, are cunningly contrived to explode after a set time, causing damage and injury to everything within the blast. A cast iron sphere contains gunpowder; a lit fuse burns down at a set rate until the bursting charge is reached. The skill of the gunner is in judging the trajectory of the shot and the length of fuse required to explode the shell over or amongst the enemy.

Historically the weapons used for shells were most often short-barrelled mortars or howitzers. Apart from anything else, the gunner had to reach down the barrel to ignite the shell fuse, and then get out of the way before the piece fired or the shell exploded. It was not unknown for gunners to be killed by premature shell bursts, either in the barrel or shortly after firing! The explosive shell lives on today in the form of cartoon bombs with the word “BOMB” on the side in large, unfriendly letters.

Carcass Shot

+1% upkeep costs for artillery units

Enables carcass shot (for howitzers and mortars)

This ammunition is a hellish incendiary, contrived from combustible substances wrapped in canvas, strengthened and supported by iron hoops.

The shells are made by pouring an unpleasant cocktail of turpentine, tallow, resin, saltpetre, and sulphur and antimony compounds into a canvas sack, which is supported by iron interlocking hoops. The mixture hardens, and the shot can then be fired from mortars and howitzers. A weapon with a low muzzle velocity is required, otherwise the canvas rips apart and the crew are showered with the burning contents of the carcass. The hoops hopefully prevent the shot from bursting as it leaves the barrel, setting the users on fire rather than the target.

In theory, the mixture should burn for a few minutes when the shot bursts on impact, and be incredibly difficult to extinguish. Certainly, dousing the flames with water will have little effect. This makes carcass shot particularly useful against defensive positions, and an extremely unpleasant weapon when used against troops in the open.

Explosive Rockets

Enables recruitment of:
Rocket Ship	Rocket Troop

These explosive projectiles not only rely on gunpowder for their killing power, but also for propulsion.

A war rocket is an iron cylinder, packed with gunpowder, with a long wooden stick as a tail. It functions in much the same way as a firework, but with infinitely deadlier consequences. Launched from a simple angled trough, rockets are not particularly accurate, but they are extremely frightening and have an incendiary effect on the target too. They can be fired from ships (with some risk to the firing vessel) and from battlefield launchers too.

Historically, rocketry in European warfare was a consequence of nasty surprises inflicted at the hands of Indian rocket troops, particularly those of Tippoo Sultan, the “Tiger of Mysore”. They had long been a part of Indian and Asian warfare, and the invading Europeans were merely new targets. The British, ready as always to adopt a foreign weapon when it suited, had their own version thanks to the work of (honorary) Colonel William Congreve (1772-1828). His work gave the Royal Navy and, eventually, the Royal Artillery, a fearsome weapon. More sophisticated unguided artillery rockets are still in use by modern armies.

Available for:

Quicklime Shells

+2% upkeep costs for artillery units

Enables quicklime shells. This replaces carcass shot for howitzers and mortars

This unpleasant and ungentlemanly artillery projectile showers the target with quicklime, a compound that causes burns and blindness.

Quicklime is a dangerous, caustic product that gets very, very hot when it is slaked with water. It does have entirely innocent uses: plaster, mortar and whitewash for buildings, and in glass making; but as a weapon it is frightening indeed. The smallest amount will cause painful, even fatal, burns on exposed flesh. The eyes are especially vulnerable because they are moist with tears. Quicklime shells carry an explosive charge so as to burst above enemy lines, but they are still dangerous to the gunners using them.

Historically, quicklime had a long history of use in warfare, dating back to Classical antiquity. This did not make it an acceptable weapon in the eyes of many military gentlemen who, quite rightly, realised that what could be used against the enemy could also be used against them. Further, like all chemical weapons, it was entirely dependent on the wind to send the caustic agent in the right direction once released. It was true that, short of running away, there was no practical defence against perfidious and odious chemical weapons.

Shrapnel Shot

+2% upkeep costs for artillery units

Enables shrapnel shot for cannons

This explosive projectile inflicts casualties by liberally peppering enemies with shot and iron splinters as it bursts above them.

Canister shells are intended to turn cannons into enormous shotguns or blunderbusses, treating men as so many targets to be shredded with musket balls. They have a limited range and utility.

The shrapnel explosive round, however, is a long range weapon, and has much in common with a mortar shell or hand grenade. Once loaded and the fuse lit, it is fired at the enemy with the intention of bursting like a mortar shell. Unlike a mortar, it does not rely solely on explosive power; there is the added refinement that the shell casing is designed to splinter into killing fragments and there are musket balls within. If a shrapnel shell bursts above an enemy unit, the casualties can be terrible indeed.

This deadly weapon was developed by the eponymous Henry Shrapnel (1761-1842), an officer in the British Royal Artillery. His “spherical case” shell was such an obvious advance in artillery killing power that he was rapidly promoted, given a generous state pension and immortalised by having his name become a new word for any kind of fragment deliberately built into a bomb or shell.

Percussion Shells

+2% upkeep costs for artillery units

Enables percussive shells. These replace explosive shells for howitzers and mortars

This is a cannon shell which explodes on impact, rather than as the result of a burning fuse igniting the bursting charge.

Explosive shells usually rely on the gunner lighting a separate fuse on the shell itself prior to the gun being fired. The fuse burns at a set rate, and explodes after a selected time regardless of whether or not a target has been hit or the enemy is nearby. Incorrectly set fuses can kill friends or gunners, or not explode at all. Explosive shells are also limited to mortars and howitzers which lob their projectiles in a high arc.

The percussion shell, however, is cunningly fashioned to take advantage of the explosive properties of fulminating compounds. These chemicals burst into flame when struck, and this can be used to ignite larger charges of gunpowder. The shock of an impact on a target is transferred to the fulminate, which then ignites the shell’s bursting charge. Such shells can be fired from ordinary cannons, directly at an enemy.

Historically, the work of Henri-Joseph Paixhans (1783-1854), who combined the flat-firing cannon and a reliable percussion shell, lead directly to the obsolescence of the wooden warship and the rise of the ironclad.

Naval

Naval Shore Facilities

Enables building of:
Dockyard	Naval Board	Naval Council

A fleet is more than just a collection of ships. It requires an organisation and support ashore to keep it afloat and battle worthy.

Ships at sea require regular repairs, even if they are not fighting, as wind and wave will take a toll of even the strongest vessel. Even ships that are not active require some maintenance support, as barnacles and weeds must be removed if sailing performance is not be to compromised. A warship requires a prodigious quantity of stores, food, water and ammunition too: all of these must be collected, properly preserved and then loaded quickly and efficiently.

All of these tasks mean that navies must have their own dockyards, repair shops and warehouses available at all times. It is not enough to rely on civilian capacity.

Historically, the Royal Navy was the largest single industrial “business” in the 18th Century world. A huge fleet demanded shore facilities such as dockyards on an equally vast scale, and in every part of the world. Just supplying the fleet with food, drink and spare parts required tremendous purchasing organisation, but the Navy was also capable of building and repairing vessels. Even British foreign policy in places like the Baltic was dominated by the need to keep the navy supplied (with mast timbers and tar, in the case of the Baltic).

Flintlock Cannon

-5% reduction to naval cannons' reloading time

Enhances national prestige

The simplest ideas are often the most effective. Fitting a flintlock to a cannon reduces misfires and speeds firing.

Traditionally, cannons are fired by applying a slow-burning match to the touch hole in the breach. The primer catches, flashes into the main barrel, and the resulting explosion fires the projectile. The gun captain needs to be careful, stay out of the line of recoil, and keep his linstock away from any gunpowder. However, a burning match is not foolproof, and the method can produce misfires and, more dangerously, “hangfires” where the priming powder is burning, but has not – yet – set off the main charge.

By taking the flintlock from a standard musket and attaching it to a cannon breach, a reliable spark can be created, making firing a cannon a much more reliable process. Any risk of the slow match being extinguished, or causing an accidental explosion, is gone. The gun captain has only to cock the flintlock, stand well back, and then pull the lanyard to fire his gun. This certainty of fire is much valued aboard warships.

Historically, only the British Royal Navy and the US Continental Navy adapted the flintlock for use on cannons.

Seasoning

-2% upkeep costs for all naval units

+5% recruitment costs for all naval units

Enhances national prestige

The practice of setting green timber aside after it is felled to dry naturally, so that it can be then used in shipbuilding.

Seasoning takes time, as wood will dry out at its own pace once the tree has been felled and brought to a timber yard. Large sheds are required, where the timber can be left in dry conditions for a year or more until ready for use. Some, as it dries, will warp and prove unsuitable for further work. In the case of oak, the wood actually gains strength over time as it dries out and settles into its final form.

Historically, ships, and warships in particular, needed an enormous amount of timber, of many different kinds. It could take a century for a tree to grow large enough for use, so shipwrights needed to use their materials carefully. In an attempt to save money and timber, the British Royal Navy had a policy of recycling parts from old ships (which sounds commendably “green” nowadays) but this had the effect of transferring old rot to new builds. The French preferred to build ships out of unseasoned wood, maintaining that ships that had flexibility to “work” sailed better.

Sextant

+5% movement range for ships on the campaign map

Enhances national prestige

This precision navigation tool allows a skilled user to calculate his latitude.

The basic purpose is to measure the height of a star or other heavenly object above the horizon. If a measurement of the sun’s height at noon is taken, then the measured angle relates directly to the latitude of the observer using the sextant. Skilled navigators can also use the moon or any star listed in a naval almanac for the same purpose. If a navigator uses his sextant horizontally, he can measure the angle between any two prominent landmarks and so, by triangulation, accurately fix his own position on a chart. This is a huge advance on any method of dead reckoning, even if it does not help in establishing longitude.

A sextant is a delicate thing, and requires skilled repair if damaged.

Historically, the sextant was a development of earlier devices like the backstaff and the astrolabe. The sextant is so called because the measuring arc is exactly one-sixth of a circle. Earlier attempts at similar instruments were the octant (one-eighth) and quadrant (one-quarter); both used the same basic sighting method, but the arc was either too small to be practical or made the device unwieldy.

Naval Architecture Advances

-5% recruitment cost for all naval units

Enhances national prestige

Enables building of:

Drydock

This is a new approach to the business of designing, building, arming and commissioning warships for the navy.

The struggle to find a perfect design for a ship of the line occupies many minds in many admiralties around the world. Ideally, the perfect design for each type of vessel will be a standard, repeatable plan that any competent shipwright can execute. There must be compromise between the various elements of the ship: armament and its type, speed, sail area, strength of hull, endurance (in terms of supplies carried) and so forth. If any of these are unbalanced, then the ship will sail or fight poorly, and the fleet be weakened as a result.

Historically, distinct “classes” of warships built to standardised designs emerged by a process of experimentation. Shipwrights were expected to naval architects rather than build ships by rule of thumb, the way things had always been done. Navies encouraged the practice because a certain pleasing neatness resulted if ships were built to recognised standards. In Britain, for example, the work of Sir Thomas Slade (1704-71) was exceptional: he produced a standard plan for the third rate 74, and over 40 ships were built to his design.

Improved Grape Shot

Requires the Canister Shot technology.

Improves the effectiveness of grape shot

Grape shot turns a naval cannon into a giant blunderbuss, delivering a devastating blast of man-killing shot into a target.

Grape shot is usually a canvas bag that contains a large number of small cannon balls. These are usually larger than the musket balls used in canister shot for land-based artillery, as they are expected to blast through wooden ships. Indeed, a part of their terrible killing effect comes from the fact that they not only spread out from the gun barrel when fired, but also shatter the target into equally deadly splinters. “Splinter” in this case can mean a lethally pointed piece of wood as long as a man’s torso!

Improved grape shot puts the killing balls into a cylindrical container with a wooden base or “sabot” (shoe), that acts as a piston when the cannon fires. Improved grapeshot can therefore do even more damage to the crew of a target.

Historically, a broadside of grapeshot from HMS Swallow killed the infamous pirate Bartholomew “Black Bart” Roberts in 1722. However, grapeshot was normally used to “rake” enemy ships by firing into the bow or stern. With no transverse bulkheads to absorb any damage, few would survive such an attack.

Longitude Watch

+10% movement range for ships on the campaign map

Enhances national prestige

This watch keeps excellent time, enabling sailors to use it to calculate their longitude with some certainty.

While latitude is relatively easy to calculate for mariners, it is far harder to estimate longitude. Dead reckoning can put a ship many leagues out of position, making it incredibly risky to approach a possibly reef-strewn coast. Having a reliable “home” time, it is possible to compare local readings, and so calculate longitude.

In the 18th Century poor navigation was a dangerous issue. Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell (1650-1707) and 1400 others in his Royal Navy squadron died when a fleet went aground off the Scillies. Dead reckoning misplaced the fleet in a position of safety and, to add to navigators’ problems, no one could place the Scilly Islands on a map with any degree of accuracy either. Clearly, improvements were needed in navigational tools and the British Longitude Act of 1714 offered the immense fortune of £10,000 to anyone who could devise a method for successfully calculating that element of a position. English clockmaker John Harrison (1693-1776) did eventually produce a chronometer that kept very accurate time, but spent more effort in trying to get the money out of a recalcitrant government committee!

Reformed Naval Administration

Enhances national prestige

Enables building of:

Naval College

The desire to keep a well-supplied, healthy and effective fleet at sea requires a tremendous amount of administration and paperwork, paperwork, paperwork!

Traditionally, many naval nations have relied on treating a navy as one more part of the royal household, or a series of temporary arrangements that draw on the merchant fleets in time of war. A reformation of the navy’s shore administration replaces the ad hoc arrangements of previous centuries with a properly trained and salaried secretariat, men who understand the worlds of business, account books and legal matters better than they know the sea. It is they who organise and run the naval service not, as was once the case, admirals and officers too old or crippled to walk the quarterdeck. The change, while bemoaned by sea officers, is undoubtedly necessary to ensure that a fleet can remain at sea, with crews, food and equipment as required, and shore facilities for repair when they are needed, wherever they are needed.

Historically, maintaining maritime power was not an option for any nation that engaged in overseas trade. The only guarantee that sea lanes would be open for merchant vessels was the guns of a powerful navy. A nation without warships was, sooner or later, a nation without its own trading fleets.

Carronades

Enhances national prestige

Enables recruitment of:

Carronade Frigate

This weapon is a short-barrelled, muzzle-loading cannon that can be mounted on the upper decks of a warship.

Carronade differ from the normal warship “long guns” by having a shortened barrel, relative to the weight of shot. Short barrels require reduced gunpowder charges; large charges would be wasted because they would not have time to burn properly. This gives a reduced muzzle velocity, less recoil, and a lighter weapon. As a further benefit, carronades require fewer gunners to fire them. There is, however, a tactical price to pay: carronades are short-range weapons. In close, but only in close, they can do fearful slaughter.

Historically, the carronade was developed by the Carron Company of Fife, Scotland. It was a huge success initially, as the weight of shot more than made up for its short range: 68-pounder carronades were quite easily carried aboard even small ships. HMS Victory carried 68-pounder carronades as part of her armament: one raking round shot and a load of 500 musket balls did terrible slaughter on the gun deck of the Bucentaure at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.

Copper Bottoms

+5% recruitment cost for all naval units

+10% topspeed of ships in battle

+5% movement range for ships on the campaign map

Ships can be protected from fouling and the ravages of worms by covering them with copper sheeting below the waterline.

Wooden ships are a rich feast for many marine animals, and a home for all manner of weeds and barnacles. Over time, any hull becomes fouled with weeds and encrustations to the point that the ship’s speed is compromised. Worse still, given time, worms will eat the planks of a ship to the point where its bottom literally falls out! Other than scraping a beached hull clean, there is no cure; worm eaten timbers have to be chopped out and replaced.

Coppering involves nailing or bolting thin sheets of metal over the whole of a ship’s underside. The copper is toxic to worms and weeds, and greatly extends the working life of a ship, and improves its sea keeping qualities.

Historically, coppering was only a partial solution to the problem of fouling. It worked well in keeping the hull clean but, thanks to an electrolytic reaction with iron bolts used to hold a ship together, the bolts rotted away! The iron, copper and seawater had created a battery, and the (unintentional) iron cathodes were damaged by the reaction.

Lime Juice and Sauerkraut

-2% upkeep costs for all naval units

Enhances national prestige

Enables building of:

Naval Hospital

A man is what he eats and, if he eats properly, he will keep at bay some of those pitiable afflictions that weaken and destroy him.

Scurvy is a terrible, disabling and ultimately fatal risk to all seafarers and many others. Most ship’s companies can expect to lose some of their number to its ravages. It begins mildly enough, with bad breath, bleeding gums, spots, and lays its victims low. Scurvy, however, is entirely avoidable if fresh fruit and vegetables are eaten. Failing that, the juice of limes can be stored aboard ships without losing its health-giving potency and sauerkraut (despite being pickled) can be a substitute for fresh cabbage.

In the 18th Century no one had the faintest idea that vitamin deficiency was the cause of scurvy, but a few clear thinkers recognised that something was missing from sailors’ food. Scottish naval physician James Lind (1716-1794) proved by systematic experimentation that fresh fruit was a cure for scurvy, possibly the first clinical trial ever conducted. He also advocated keeping ships clean and fumigated, and should be seen for all these as a hero of naval medicine for the improvement he made to the sailor’s lot.

Rifled Cannons

Requires the Machined Rifling technology.

+2% recruitment cost for all naval units

Enables rifled naval cannons

Enhances national prestige

Rifling a barrel increases the accuracy of a weapon, and this principle can be applied to large cannons as well as small arms.

Ordinary naval cannons are smoothbore weapons, meaning that the barrel is a simple tube to contain the explosion. The limitations of casting mean that cannons are quite crude and windage, the gap between barrel and shot, is always a problem. A shot often “rattles” down the barrel when fired, making it inherently inaccurate. The loss of accuracy with a smoothbore makes its maximum range of academic interest only, simply because it becomes a matter of luck rather than judgement to hit anything far away!

A rifled cannon solves these problems. By using machines to bore out the barrel from a blank casting, one inaccuracy is removed. Another machine cuts a helical pattern of grooves into the barrel wall. This imparts a spin to any shot as it travels down the barrel, and a spinning projectile flies true. This makes the effective range of a rifled cannon shot much greater than one from a smoothbore, although the maximum range for both is similar.

Historically, rifled cannons used manufacturing techniques developed for making accurate steam pistons and cylinders.

Improved Coppering

-2% upkeep costs for all naval units

+2% recruitment cost for all naval units

+10% topspeed of ships in battle

+5% movement range for ships on the campaign map

Coppering a ship prevents weeds fouling it, and this improved method prevents the ship’s structural bolts from mysteriously rotting away.

Copper sheets fitted to a wooden ship keep weeds and worms at bay, making the ship faster in the water and longer lasting in service. However, until the advent of a new alloy for making bolts to hold ship’s timbers in place, coppering caused the iron bolts to be eaten away. Although nobody understands why the iron bolts fail, experiments have revealed that an alloy of copper and zinc can make bolts of sufficient strength that are immune to the mysterious problem.

Copper sheathing for a ship is not a trivial expense, being about six times more expensive than replacing damaged timbers. For those navies who do it, however, the improved performance from not having weed-fouled hulls is well worth the expense. Fancy metallurgy is a small additional price to pay.

Historically, the alloy bolts made coppering a success, so much so that “copper bottomed” became a mark of approval: something so (financially) sound it could not possibly fail. The method remained in use until the development of anti-fouling paints; even iron hulls get fouled by weeds.

Sheet Lead Cartridges

-5% reduction to misfires for naval cannons

-5% reduction to naval cannons' reloading time

Enhances national prestige

These lead containers hold standard gunpowder charges for cannons, keeping them dry in the often wet conditions aboard ship.

Powder is traditionally kept in the magazine deep in the bowels of the ship, carefully isolated from any stray sparks or naked flames. Traditionally, when going into action, the master gunner had his crews prepare small bags, each containing the right amount of powder for a given weight of cannon. These bags were then distributed to the gun captains, making loading a quicker and safer process.

However, cloth bags will get wet in the normal course of events aboard ship, or sparks falling on them can cause explosions. This has brought about the development of other containers for gunpowder charges. The most successful in experiments are cylinder-shaped cartridges made of soft sheet lead, which can be filled with powder and then carefully bent closed by hand. These can be prepared before battle, and are largely immune to both sparks and damp. The whole lead cylinder is rammed into the barrel, followed by a shot. A sharp spike rammed into the touchhole pierces the cartridge, allowing the primer to fire the main shot. The result is a reliable and safe loading procedure.

Top Gallants

+10% increase of speed in battle for ships with top gallants

+10% increase to movement range on campaign map for ships with top gallants

Enhances national prestige

Top gallants are extra sails at the top of a mast, giving the ship more sail area and therefore a higher speed.

All sailing ships rely on the wind for motive power. The only practical way to make a better speed through the water at a particular wind velocity is to put on more sail. Each mast is designed to take a main sail and a topsail, but it is possible with top gallants to add an extra sail above the topsail. Naturally, this requires more yards, ropes and skilled sailors to set the sails. Adding a top gallant is also something of a strain on the fabric of the ship: the extra strain on a mast can, in high winds, rip it right out of a hull. This catastrophic damage to the whole ship can also cause casualties among the crew.

The speed and handling of a ship can also be improved by careening the hull: a process that takes days. This, however, is not something that will instantly give more speed, unlike setting the top gallants.

Preserved Foods

+2 to morale in battles

Enhances national prestige

Keeping food fresh at sea requires that it is preserved in some way; at the very least, this makes it taste fairly horrible.

A variety of preserving methods are used to aid the storage life of food. Meat and, to a lesser extent, cheese can be salted and stored for years, but the inevitable saltiness makes it a poor substitute for fresh food. Ship’s biscuits and flour for bread can be stored in barrels for long periods, but are notoriously prey to weevils. Beer likewise can be stored for a while thanks to the preservative effects of hops. Other foods are harder to keep fresh, and the solutions were to put into port regularly, carry animals for slaughter, or go without. It is, however, now possible to preserve food in jars or metal canisters: they are cooked in the container and then quickly sealed to keep out the air.

Historically, the process was pioneered by French confectioner Nicolas Appert (1749 - 1841). He spotted that food boiled in sealed containers only spoiled once the air was admitted, and earned himself a substantial prize once he went into production: a laborious business as each tin had to be hand made.

Agriculture

Common Land Enclosures

-1 happiness from industrialisation (lower classes)

+0.1% to the population growth impact of farms

Reduces the chance of food shortages

The appropriation of community land is an efficient way for the landed classes to increase their wealth.

Enclosure laws remove the rights of the lower social classes to graze their animals on common land, because it is now legally someone’s private property, and fenced in as such. Farming does become more efficient as a result because subsistence farming is replaced by cash crops, and there is more food grown. This is of little consequence to the common people who have been dispossessed of their ancient rights. They cannot feed themselves anymore from their own smallholdings and herds which grazed on the commons, and must take the wages offered by the new landlords.

In England the landowners sitting in Parliament were not backwards in passing many “Inclosure” Acts for their own benefit in the 18th Century. Enormous parcels of land were, effectively, stolen from the common working people and incorporated into private estates. The effect was to empty the landscape of unwanted labourers, who were forced into the new mill towns and rapidly industrialising cities, swapping rural poverty for urban squalor. Poor laws did little to alleviate poverty, other than making sure that the poor moved on to starve somewhere else.

Improved Animal Husbandry

Reduces the chance of food shortages

+2% wealth generated by farms

The application of rational, scientific principles to the care and breeding of farm livestock.

Animal husbandry is, of course, a practical skill of every farmer, cowhand, shepherd, pigboy and egg collector on just about every farm in the world. It is, however, a matter of hard-won individual experience and folklore rather than rational, organised study. When gentlemen scholars apply their “scientific methods” of study to animals close to home, an improvement in animal care, health and breeding quality can result, leading in turn to greater yields for the farmers.

Historically, Thomas Coke, the 1st Earl of Leicester (1754-1842) was a leading light in this field in Europe. He reorganised his lands and home at the family seat, Holkam Hall. His “Holkam Sheerings” were gatherings of agriculturalists and gentleman farmers, who came to admire his flocks and herds - and see new ways of turning a profit. Many now see these as the forerunners of the traditional county and agricultural shows that take place to this day.

Four Field Crop Rotation

+0.2% to the population growth impact of farms

Reduces the chance of food shortages

By planting four different crops in succession the quality of soil in a field can be markedly improved.

Simply: better soil means better harvests, and by grouping fields into fours, all crops are grown every year, just in different places. Farmers have long practiced crop rotation, leaving fields to lie fallow one year in every four to recover their fertility. This system works, but it means that a quarter of farmland is doing nothing every year. This reduces profits and food supply. Four-field rotation adds an extra, useful crop to the series that actually improves the soil: clover or turnips are typical plantings.

Viscount Charles “Turnip” Townshend (1674-1738), brought this Dutch invention to England, earning his nickname for his devotion to the crop and his exceedingly predictable dinner conversations on the subject. Despite the boredom of his dinner guests, his improvements worked, and were part of a larger agricultural change that further enriched the landed classes. In England, with the Enclosure Acts that effectively stole the common grazing lands of the rural community, crop rotation made the wealthy even wealthier.

Seed Planting Drill

-15% to cost of constructing farm buildings

-15% to cost of constructing plantations

Enhances national prestige

A horse-drawn machine that plants seeds in regimented lines, and then covers them with earth.

The seed drill replaces the old method of a farm hand simply walking the fields and scattering seed by hand onto the ground. Instead of wasting seeds or allowing them to be eaten by birds and scavengers, the drill plants them in a controlled manner. Seeds are poured into a hopper, and then a cunning mechanical contrivance assures that each is properly buried at the right depth. Wastage is reduced, the plants have the correct amount of room, and crop yields are increased.

The inventor, Jethro Tull (1674-1741), was a practical man and a believer in empirical studies to determine the truth. He was of the opinion that plants gained much of their nutrition from the soil, and that it made sense to both improve it and remove weeds with an eye to increasing harvests. His seed drill was only one of his inventions that aided the Agricultural Revolution in Britain. This (forcibly) freed workers from the rural economy and drove them to seek work in the new mills of the Industrial Revolution.

Advanced Irrigation

+0.2% to the population growth impact of farms

Reduces the chance of food shortages

+4% wealth generated by farms

Enhances national prestige

Enables building of:

Wine Estates

The techniques and tools of managing water flow on farmland, to improve the soil and crop yields.

Advanced irrigation is the application of scientific ingenuity and mechanical principles to the use and distribution of water. Marshy landscapes are drained and tamed to make productive and profitable farmland, rivers can be dammed and diverted, ponds and the landscape itself reworked to the benefit of its owners. These advances are leading to the cultivation of land that would previously considered unsuitable for agriculture, providing more food for a growing population.

In Europe, the Dutch were the masters of irrigation and water management – hardly surprising given the low-lying nature of much of the Netherlands! In Asia and India, rice farmers had long practical experience with paddy fields. Crop irrigation is an ancient skill, dating back to the dawn of agriculture: the Egyptians used the yearly flooding of the Nile as the basis of their entire civilization, a dead world that scholars and antiquaries in the late 18th Century were beginning to explore.

Selective Breeding

+6% wealth generated by farms

Crossbreeding animals to produce hybrids by applying the scientific method increases their desirable and profitable characteristics.

The simple ideas are often the most effective: by separating a farm’s herds by sex, animals cannot breed as nature intended and the inclination takes them. The farmer can select the male animal used to impregnate his flock or herd, and choose the good characteristics he wants the next generation to inherit! By repeatedly selecting the “father of the flock” for his good and profitable qualities, the worth of the whole flock increases over each generation.

Robert Bakewell (1725-1795) was the first to try this simple scheme at his farm in Leicestershire, England. His new breeds, Dishley Longhorn cattle and English Leicester sheep were only popular during his lifetime, but the pattern had been set. New crossbreeds replaced them, and the size and yields of farm animals increased dramatically. Perhaps a touch ironically, the modern trend is to preserve ancient farming bloodstock types, in the hope that they may have benefits for today’s farmers.

Steam-Pumped Land Drainage

Requires the Basic Steam Pump technology.

+0.3% to the population growth impact of farms

Reduces the chance of food shortages

Enhances national prestige

The use of steam pumps to drain marshy and low-lying land for agriculture.

There is always a growing demand for food and a finite amount of land where it can be grown. With new steam-powered pumping machines and cunningly laid out ditches, it becomes possible to drain land previously considered impossible to use. Water runs downhill, but where there is no “downhill”, it must be lifted and carried away by man’s artifice. A steam pump can raise water at a rate no animal- or man-powered contraption can possible match.

In Europe, the Dutch were (naturally enough, given their geography) the experts on drainage, using windmills to move water into higher channels were it could flow away. These, however, relied entirely on the wind. The steam-powered beam engine, used to drain mine workings, had no such weakness, and continued to pump as long as it had water and fuel. In Britain, the beam engine not only allowed the drainage of land, but also eased the problems of canal construction and routing.

Threshing Machine

Reduces the chance of food shortages

+8% wealth generated by farms

Enhances national prestige

A machine used to “separate the wheat from the chaff” in a very literal fashion.

The harvesting of any cereal crop is only one part of the work. Threshing is the backbreaking process of separating the grain from the stalks: work that takes as long as the gathering-in of the crop itself. This horse-driven machine takes the grain, separates it from husk and stalk, and then collects it. The work of many men is done in seemingly no time at all, and with less wastage.

Historically, Scottish inventor Andrew Meikle’s (1719-1811) threshing machine was not an immediate success, but the design soon improved. Its inner workings can be deduced from its other name of “thrashing machine”!

It was not popular among the rural working classes, as many lost their jobs. The 1830 Swing Riots included machine breaking by the dispirited and desperate rural poor, mirroring the urban Luddite riots that targeted mills. “Captain Swing”, the mysterious leader and figurehead of the rioters, probably never existed as a single individual, making “him” impossible to trace and catch!

Metal industry

Basic Steam Pump

-10% to cost of constructing metalworking buildings

-10% to cost of constructing mines

This is steam-powered mechanical contrivance allows the easy drainage of mines, among other tasks.

Practical “steam engines” that can do useful work offer many advantages over other sources of power such as animals and waterwheels. A beam engine that harnesses the pressure of steam to work a mechanical pump can be used to pump water out of mine workings either more efficiently or from greater depths. In both cases, the profits of the mine are greatly increased.

Historically, there were several almost-abortive attempts to create a “steam pump”, with most of the early efforts being carried out by engineers in Cornwall, England. This county was rich in many mineral ores, and landowners were prepared to pay handsomely for profitable innovations. Captain Thomas Savery (1650-1715) developed a “fire engine” that worked, after a fashion and as well as it could, given the time’s engineering limitations. It was, however, the beam “atmospheric engine” of Thomas Newcomen (1664-1729) that truly harnessed steam power and made miners’ lives safer.

Coke Blast Furnace

+8% wealth generated by metalworking buildings

Enhances national prestige

Enables building of:
Ironmaster's Works	Ironmaster's Forge

A furnace used to smelt ore efficiently and cheaply, allowing the creation of iron on a large scale.

Iron smelting is traditionally done on a small scale, using charcoal as the fuel for the furnace. Demand for iron is now such that the charcoal burning industry can no longer keep up, simply because there aren’t enough trees to be chopped down for fuel! Instead, new methods using coal and, in particular, coke, can produce more iron of better quality.

Coke is coal that has been heated in a confined space so that its volatile components are driven off, producing a carbonized residue. This burns in the same steady fashion as charcoal, and is an ideal fuel for blast furnaces. In these air is forced through as quickly as possible, quickly raising the temperature and melting the ore.

Historically, it was English ironmaster Abraham Darby (1678–1717) who discovered coke could be used in blast furnaces, and to better effect than charcoal. His iron was not of good quality but could be produced cheaply. He founded a dynasty of ironmasters who are directly responsible for the new “cast iron age” of the early Industrial Revolution.

Measuring Tools

+4% bonus to town wealth from all buildings

+4% wealth generated by industrial buildings

Enables building of:

Metalled Roads

Accurate measuring tools make possible the measurement of everything, allowing scientific and technical work to proceed apace.

Until there are reliable instruments, standard units of measurement can only exist within a single workshop or scientist’s laboratory. How can a scientist describe the distances or sizes of his experiments and be sure that anyone else is working to the same dimensions? Craftsmen must make everything, from a clock cogwheel to a musket mainspring to a spinning machine, by trial and error, relying on modifying pieces until they fit well enough to work, but not necessarily accurately. An accurate measurement method, which is used in different locations, means that consistency and repeatability can triumph!

Historically, Jesse Ramsden’s dividing engine and screw cutting lathe allowed the repeatable creation of graduations on measuring tools. Ramsden’s early work in Britain had been on the thorny problem of longitude, and a reward of £300 (a small fortune at the time) enabled him to expand his business and create the tools that lead to accurate sextants. By 1785 his expertise was being used to make a theodolite for the Royal Engineers’ Ordnance Survey, allowing the eventual mapping of the whole of the United Kingdom.

Machine Tools

Requires the Wealth of Nations technology.

-10% recruitment cost for all land units

+4% bonus to town wealth from all buildings

Enhances national prestige

Enables building of:
Ceramics Factory	Lumber Mill

Precision, machine tools make components reliably and accurately, replacing the skilled eye and hand of a craftsman.

It is possible for a skilled man to make parts for any device that are all of the same size and quality, but it is not easy for him to do this day in, day out. By using a series of machines that are set to carry an individual task each, it is possible to replicate the skills of the craftsman with unskilled labour. A man only needs to know how to place a work item in a machine and pull a lever. The machine itself will always drill the proper hole, cut a shape or turn an item. The main restriction on the number of any device made disappears, as skilled labour is only needed to set up the machines. As a secondary benefit it is also possible to standardise even the most basic of items, such nuts and bolts.

John Wilkinson (1728-1808), for example, created a new method of making cannons by casting them as a solid “lump” and then accurately boring out the barrel with a machine. His technique could also be applied to steam engine cylinders.

Puddling Furnace

-10% recruitment cost for artillery

+12% wealth generated by metalworking buildings

Enhances national prestige

This furnace keeps the pig iron and fuel separated, preventing impurities from reaching the pool of molten metal.

As a result, the puddling furnace makes a very good quality end product. It does not, however, turn raw ore into refined metal: it needs refined iron of reasonable quality to produce the best results. The metal is placed in the heart of the furnace along with oxidizing agents and melted by blowing flames from the fire onto it; the puddle formed in the open hearth is manually stirred by the operators – a risky job for anyone! The iron produced can be worked further into wrought iron, a strong, malleable material with many uses.

Historically, English ironmaster Henry Cort (1740-1800) developed the process, partly in response to the poor quality of iron he dealt with in his job working for the Royal Naval Dockyards. Unfortunately, he was not much of a businessman and he did not gain great wealth from his work; he died a ruined man.

Steam Engine

+12% wealth generated by industrial buildings

Enhances national prestige

This mechanical engine harnesses pressurised steam to provide motive power for all manner of machinery.

The power comes from letting steam into a cylinder beneath a piston, and then cooling it rapidly. The partial vacuum created sucks the piston down the cylinder; more steam then enters and is cooled, creating a backwards-and-forwards stroke that can be converted by cams into rotary motion. The engine itself remains stationary, but its power can be transferred by axles, gears and belts to other machines. Some steam engines are simply harnessed to pumps and the reciprocating motion of the piston is used to lift water out of mines.

A steam engine requires water and fuel, but it can be installed anywhere. As long as a fire burns and the boiler has water, it will provide profitable power to a mill or mine.

The practical steam engine was the brainchild of Scotsman James Watt (1736-1819), who improved the earlier machines of Thomas Newcomen and others. It was Watt who first used the term “horsepower” as a measure of an engine’s output – something that still brings joy to all modern petrolheads! He was also honoured by giving his name to the SI unit of derived power, the watt.

Interchangeable Parts

-3% upkeep costs for all army units

-3% upkeep costs for all naval units

+4% bonus to town wealth from all buildings

Enhances national prestige

Uniformity in the parts of any machine or device means that it can be assembled easily or broken items can be replaced quickly.

Many devices are hand-built by craftsmen to extremely high standards, but this brings its own problems. If a designed component doesn’t fit into a machine, it can be carefully worked until it does; in itself, this is no bad thing, but the altered piece may not now fit into an apparently identical mechanism.

By making identical parts within a fine tolerance, identical machines can be built from any mixture of those parts. Work can be divided up amongst craftsmen, and broken parts can be replaced easily, even by a user! This is particularly useful for the military, as muskets and other equipment can be quickly repaired in the field rather than being thrown away or expensively rebuilt.

This advance became widely known about thanks to American inventor Eli Whitney (1765-1825). He built ten muskets in front of a US Congressional committee, took them to pieces, mixed up the parts, and rebuilt the muskets. The act was impressive, but he had cheated by having all his demonstration pieces carefully handcrafted to extremely exacting standards. He was largely copying the ideas of Frenchman Honoré Blanc.

Textile industry

Spinning Jenny

+8% bonus to town wealth from textile industry buildings

Enhances national prestige

This device is, at heart, a powered spinning wheel that allows the bulk creation of thread for weaving.

Manual spinning is a slow, tedious business, and one that cannot be speeded up, only given to more hands to do. The spinning jenny mechanises the process, by turning the spindle on its side and having it roll to and fro as the thread is spun. A single worker can, using the jenny, produce eight threads at a time, rather than just one. Quality may suffer, but this is a secondary consideration, as is the well-being of the workers. They are often children, who have hands small enough to reach into the machinery while it is running and would otherwise be idle and undoubtedly given to all manner of mischief.

The device is usually credited to James Hargreaves (1720-1778), a weaver and carpenter from Lancashire in England. While his invention was clever, he was not a businessman or lawyer, and he suffered much lost income as a result of not using patent law properly.

Spinning Mule

Requires the Division of Labour technology.

+4% wealth generated by textile workshops and factories

Enhances national prestige

This machine produces very high quality yarns efficiently, cheaply and in the quantities required for mechanical weaving.

A clever contraption, the spinning mule is a hybrid of two other textile machines, the spinning jenny and the water frame, hence the term “mule”. It is a machine that produces thin, strong yarn at high speed, that can be used for both warp and woof on a loom. It is the answer to every mill owner’s prayers, giving both the quality and quantity needed to keep up with the demand for thread from powered looms.

The spinning mule was the invention of Samuel Crompton (1753-1827), an inventor from Lancashire in northern England, who was so hard up that he was forced to sell the rights for his invention before he patented it. This did not make him a rich man. Initially used for cotton, the mule was eventually adapted for other yarns such as wool. Crompton did eventually receive a grant from the British Parliament for his work to aid the textile industry; his attempts to run his own businesses were always less than sparkling.

Flying Shuttle

+12% bonus to town wealth from textile industry buildings

Enhances national prestige

A flying shuttle means the width of a loom can be increased beyond the span of the weaver’s arms.

Manually-powered looms can only make pieces of cloth that are no wider than the easy reach of the weaver, simply because he has to throw the shuttle carrying the woof across the warp threads on the loom. A flying loom uses a clever arrangement of lines and pulleys to launch the “flying” shuttle with a tug on a cord, catch it at the other side of the loom, and return it with another tug of the cord. The width of the loom, and so the width of the cloth, can be increased as a result, and the quality of the cloth also improves, as the weaver is now free to use one hand to comb and compact the woven material.

The device was invented by Englishman John Kay (1704-80), and it brought him little but unhappiness. Weavers saw it as a threat to their livelihoods, and other inventors stole the idea and never paid him a penny for his work. The unfortunate man died penniless, having failed to sell his idea to the French (Good Lord, the French!) after his ill luck in Britain.

Punch-Card Loom

+12% bonus to town wealth from textile industry buildings

Enhances national prestige

A loom that makes patterned material thanks to a mechanism which follows instructions coded into a set of holed cards.

Patterns are created in woven cloth by lifting different warp threads as the shuttle passes through the loom. Even on a manual loom intricate designs can be created by lifting threads in the right order, but this relies on the skill of the weaver. The punch-card loom mechanizes the lifting of warp threads. A series of punch cards is drawn through the machine as the cloth is woven; each card has an intricate pattern of holes that allow levers to drop through as the card is “read”. The lever trips a mechanism that raises the corresponding warp thread at the right time to create a pattern. Providing the cards are in the correct order and the holes properly punched, the machine can dependably and repeatedly produce any desired design with no need for a master weaver.

Joseph Marie Jacquard (1752-1834) is credited as the father of the punched card loom, although his work draws on machines that used a paper roll for the instructions. The loom cards are direct ancestors of the computer punched card, once the bane of every computer department!

Power Loom

+4% wealth generated by textile workshops and factories

+14% bonus to town wealth from textile industry buildings

Enhances national prestige

A powered, mechanical loom that can be operated by shifts of unskilled workers.

Manual weaving is a skilled craft, one that requires long years to master and, as always, this limits the output of a craft-based industry. The power loom automates many of the movements needed to weave cloth. A cunning series of levers, cams, gears and springs make the individual elements of the loom move in precise time. The operator monitors the work, and makes sure that the machine is supplied with yarn. This unskilled labour requires nimble fingers, but not the master craftsmanship of old.

During the 18th Century powered looms were seen as a threat to many livelihoods, provoking riots and unrest when they were installed in mills. Edmund Cartwright (1743-1823) was not the first to turn his mind to mechanical weaving, but he was the first to understand the economics of the problem: that a power loom had to make more than a manual weaver, or that one operator had to be able to work several looms at the same time. His machine was not perfect, but it showed promise and the way ahead.

Mass Production

Requires the Classical Economics technology.

-5% recruitment cost for all land units

-5% recruitment cost for all naval units

+8% bonus to town wealth from all buildings

Enhances national prestige

A system for making items in huge quantities, where manufacturing is no longer dependent upon the skills of individual craftsmen.

Craft-based manufacturing of any kind has a ceiling on the number of goods that it can produce. The goods themselves may be beautifully made, but the number of expert workers is the limitation; people can only make so many things if they are doing everything for themselves.

Mass production mechanises the basic and repetitive tasks of production, and divides work into simple, repetitive and repeatable tasks. No longer does a master craftsman labour to make one item from start to finish. Instead, work is broken down into simple tasks and each given to a worker with the item passing to the next person for the next task. Each job is simple, so mechanical aids and tools can be used in place of expertise.

Marc Brunel (1769-1849) was a French engineer who fetched up in England after the French Revolution. His block-making machines are a typical example of mass production in the period. They let unskilled labour make the blocks and pulleys needed in their thousands by the Royal Navy – blocks were a vital part of ship’s rigging.

Philosophy

Empiricism

+5% to technology research rate

+1 per turn to town wealth in the region

Enhances national prestige

Enables building of:
College	College	College

The belief that all human knowledge is gained through experience and those aspects of life that cannot be directly experienced must not exist.

As men seek to explain the world around them, and their place within it, new theories are formulated almost weekly and one such theory is empiricism. Empiricists believe that the human mind is a tabula rasa (white paper), and our experiences as we grow and learn make a mark on this paper. It is through these marks that we identify with things and understand them.

The work of philosopher John Locke (1632-1704) was the driving force behind the inception of empiricism. He redefined the tabula rasa argument, first worked on by Ibn Tufail in the 12th century. His key works explored the human mind and often clashed with other theorists of his time. The rationalists, for example, held the human mind to be capable of comprehending some things without need of the senses, through faith. Locke, on the other hand, believed the mind was only capable of comprehending things through experience.

Social Contract

+10% to technology research rate

+1 per turn to town wealth in the region

Enhances national prestige

The concept of a moral, and sometimes political, agreement that is made when a person becomes a member of society.

Theorists hold that humans naturally reside in the “state of nature.” In this state men are free to do as they wish, without the constraints of the “greater good.” However, some will seek to improve themselves, by working the land to create property. To protect this property man must leave the state of nature and seek society and the laws it provides. This is when a social contract is required, to describe what is expected of a member of society.

The social contract put forth by French Enlightenment thinker Rousseau (1712-78) sought to dispel the disorder that comes from man’s rise from the state natural. It also addressed the key problem presented to man in a community: how can we live together and still keep our individual freedom? Rousseau suggested that in order for individuals to live in harmony they must give their will to the “general will.” By laying aside ego men can begin to live as a community.

Physiocracy

+2 per turn to town wealth in the region

+2 wealth generated by farms

Physiocrats believe the only real source of wealth is land and therefore only agriculture is worthy of investment.

Physiocracy means “ruled by nature” and this perfectly sums up the attitude of the theory’s adherents. They believe that land is the only profitable commodity man can own, and should be the sole concentration of those attempting to make a successful living.

The idea is also based on the assumption that humans are instinctively selfish and as such will always act to the benefit of themselves before others. Physiocrats believe that this human characteristic is vital to a thriving economy. If a ruler hampers the move forward by levying taxes, imposing regulations and generally attempting to control the flow of trade he will prevent the creation of wealth and stunt wealth generation.

As leaders in the development of physiocracy, the French created the theory of “laissez-faire.” This helped to explain their views on the amount of input a ruler should have on trade, and became an influential idea still used to promote economic liberalism today.

Utilitarianism

-1 happiness. Clamour for reform

+2 per turn to town wealth in the region

-20% to cost of constructing cultural buildings

Enhances national prestige

Enables building of:
Classical University	Traditional University

The theory that an action and its worth should be judged on utility and its benefit to others.

The many building blocks of society fit together in complex patterns. Understanding this puzzle makes a man wise indeed. Theorists are now using utilitarianism, in an attempt to understand these complexities. This school of thought holds that human will, by its very nature, seeks to serve its own interests. Utilitarianism proposes that in order for a society to function successfully people must begin to consider the utility of their actions and how they affect society as a whole.

Historically, utilitarianism concentrated on the needs of the many outweighing the needs of the few. The leading mind in this field was Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832), who maintained that nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure. He believed that these two factors made mankind infinitely governable, as long as leaders exploited these weaknesses without exploiting those they govern.

Government by Consent

-1 happiness. Clamour for reform

+5% to technology research rate

+2 per turn to town wealth in the region

Enhances national prestige

The concept that no man can be ruled without his prior consent.

Society is built on a series of laws and understandings: no man can be governed unless he deems those in power worthy of his respect, or capable of upholding his interests. This, in essence, is government by consent. Follows of this theory think rulers should never have the right to force any beliefs on those they rule. If the rulers don’t have the consent of the masses they can be overthrown and replaced by others chosen by the masses.

Historically, philosopher John Locke spent many years musing about government, and the correct way to govern a society in order to preserve the rights of the individual. His thoughts culminated in his work “The two treaties of government.” Each of these outlined his thoughts on traditional forms of government, and his suggestions on how things could be improved.

Division of Labour

-1 happiness (lower classes). Clamour for reform

+3 per turn to town wealth in the region

+8% wealth generated by industrial buildings

Enhances national prestige

The idea that the specialisation of roles within an industry creates a more skilled and organised work force.

As society expands its capabilities and needs grow with it. By dividing labour amongst workers a manufactory owner can develop a more skilled and effective work force, in turn leading to a quicker production time and larger profits. Allocating workers to specific tasks creates a more skilled and knowledgeable work force, capable of passing their knowledge on to others.

Scottish philosopher Adam Smith (1723-90) was a firm proponent of the division of labour. He argued that the rate of production would be dramatically increased within industry if work was divided effectively. In “The Wealth of Nations”, he called for a public education system to be put in place to teach workers the finer points of their craft. Economist William Petty took a different view point: he argued that the main purpose of the division of labour was creating a more skilled work force, rather than speeding up production times.

Separation of Powers

-1 happiness. Clamour for reform

+3 per turn to town wealth in the region

Enhances national prestige

A theory proposing that, in order to have a fair and just society, all powers of rulership must never be in the hands of just one person or group.

“Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it…” Kings have long had the freedom to do as they will, often resulting in injustice, cruelty and tyranny. This is the very reason for the development of a theory which proposes splitting power between different and possibly competing departments of government.

Historically, the French political commentator Charles de Secondat (1689-1755) began France’s move away from the “States general” (the division of the French people into the three estates of clergy, the aristocracy and everyone else) under the absolute authority of the King, towards a separation of powers. He was also responsible for the division of government into legislative, executive and judicial parts. One branch makes laws, the second enforces them, and the third oversees the process of justice.

Joint Stock Companies

-1 happiness. Clamour for reform

+4 per turn to town wealth in the region

+4% wealth generated by all buildings

Enhances national prestige

Enables building of:
Commercial Basin	Fur Exchange

A company owned by a group of individuals known as shareholders who can sell their stake in the company for profit.

Joint stock companies are developed by financiers who, as part of their ownership, become shareholders. They are then given stocks that they can sell at any time, preferably for a profit. Coffee houses are popular haunts for men looking to trade in stocks. Many coffee house owners even keep a record of the prices of stocks and commodities, encouraging these new financiers to conduct their affairs within their establishments – all the while indulging in expensive and fashionable coffee drinking!

Historically, the South Sea Company was one of the more notorious joint stock companies. Robert Harley, the British Treasurer, set it up but, although the company appeared to be interested in trade, its chief purpose was to fund government debt incurred during the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714). Rampant speculation pushed share prices to insane levels and, in the inevitable crash, many lost their entire fortunes.

Rights of Man

-2 happiness (lower classes). Clamour for reform

+10% to technology research rate

+4 per turn to town wealth in the region

Enhances national prestige

Enables building of:

Modern University

A theory promoting the rights of the individual, and introducing the view that “Men are born free and remain free and equal in rights.”

Every man deserves rights, regardless of his nationality, class or any other categorization placed upon him by his fellow man. These rights should extend to anything that does no injury to others. Any law imposed should only have the power to prevent these things, and nothing else. These are the new ideas implicit in the Rights of Man. Theorists believe law is an expression of the general will and as such should not be controlled by a single individual.

Historically, Thomas Paine (1737-1809), an English revolutionary who was involved in both the American and French Revolutions, wrote the “Rights of Man”. His work supported and advanced the ideals behind both revolutions: he had a strong belief in the need for freedom of speech. He stated that a man should never be punished for his views and should be free to voice them to the masses. In a time when some of his fellows were persecuted for publishing radical theories this was a dangerous view point indeed. Paine is still regarded as a hero to this day.

National Debt

-1 happiness (lower classes). Clamour for reform

-3% upkeep costs for all army units

-3% upkeep costs for all naval units

+6 per turn to town wealth in the region

Enhances national prestige

The idea that a state can, like an individual, borrow money against future (tax) income.

Kings have always run up debts, borrowing money (sometimes at sword’s point) from subjects and great banking houses. The debt, however, was the personal responsibility of the king. Eventually, his credit would run out. The concept of national debt allows a nation to borrow to finance expansion and conquest. Wars can be financed by issuing bills and bonds, and to be repaid – probably – from taxation.

Scottish economist, gambler and rake John Law (1671-1729) made several advances in his field, his most notable being the introduction of the French national bank. He also proposed state control over national finances and trade. As a result, the state used all national profits to pay off national debt. Eventually, his schemes collapsed but in the process he gave the Western world bank notes and the word “millionaire”.

National debt could also be a dangerous thing, for government officials. When the share trading of the “South Sea Bubble” spectacularly failed in 1720, government creditors were out of pocket because they had been paid off in shares. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, John Aislabie, was imprisoned in the Tower of London for his incompetence.

Wealth of Nations

-1 happiness. Clamour for reform

+25% bonus to the growth in trade route income

+6 per turn to town wealth in the region

+2% wealth generated by all buildings

Enhances national prestige

The Wealth of Nations stresses the importance of the division of labour, pursuit of self interest and freedom of trade.

This is a set of theories aimed at advancing political economy and promoting the pursuit of self-interest. The concept encourages people to consider the importance of the division of labour (so that productivity can be maximised) and the freedom of trade. Theorists state that all goods should be fairly priced and selling levels agreed mutually between buyers and sellers, with little outside influence from government or any other party.

Historically, “The Wealth of Nations” was a new and innovative piece of work written by Adam Smith, aimed at increasing the average reader’s understanding of economics. As one of the greatest minds of his time, Smith, along with a number of other great men created “Scottish Enlightenment.” Their influence was far reaching in the work of their contempories. Smith is widely held to be the father of modern economics.

Citizenship

-2 happiness (lower classes). Clamour for reform

-5% recruitment cost for infantry

+5 per turn to town wealth in the region

Enhances national prestige

The idea of belonging to a society and adhering to its rules in order to reap the benefits of being a citizen.

A man must be accountable for his own actions, for if he is not, is he a man at all? When actions are considered in the context of others, men begin along the path of citizenship. With the status of citizen there are responsibilities that are inherent in this position. In order to gain the advantages and privileges of being a citizen, a man must adhere to the rules laid out by those that have made him thus.

The idea of citizenship hails from Classical antiquity, and in particular the study of Roman authors and their views upon Roman Republican politics. Certain members of society were given “citizenship”, in effect creating a ruling class with greater political and social rights than their fellow nationals. Slaves and foreigners were not to be given political rights, and any social rights they had were limited at best. This “Roman” idea of citizenship did not imply any move to democracy of any kind, but it did imply a commonality of interests among the citizenry.

Secular Humanism

-50% to religious unrest

-1 happiness. Clamour for reform

+5 per turn to town wealth in the region

Enhances national prestige

Enables building of:
Royal Academy	Raja's Academy	Sultan's Academy

Secular Humanism is the attempt to create a functioning society that excludes religious beliefs as a governing principle.

Secular humanists hold that things should not be taken on blind faith, and religion should be taken into consideration only for each individual and not society as a whole. Although humanists seek to remove religion from its deeply ingrained position in society, they do treat it with the same careful deliberation they apply to all their investigations. Everything is looked at in a critical, careful, and most importantly, “scientific” way.

The doctrine of secular humanism also seeks to improve society through reason, an open exchange of ideas and tolerance. If a society is built up of individuals who feel fulfilled it will function better on the whole than one which concentrates on the greater good.

Historically, the term “secularism” was invented by George Holyoake (1817-1906) in an attempt to explain as inoffensively as possible this concept about religion and its place in society. Before that, it was termed “Owenite” after Robert Owen (1771-1858) and his trenchant opposition to organised religion. Holyoake had spent six months imprisoned for blasphemy, after explaining the concept in a public lecture.

Free Trade Doctrine

-1 happiness. Clamour for reform

+25% bonus to the growth in trade route income

+8 per turn to town wealth in the region

+15% wealth generated by ports

Enhances national prestige

Enables building of:

Global Trading Company

The concept that trade should be unimpeded by taxes, tariffs or any other restriction enacted by authority.

Free trade is an intensely pleasing prospect for traders. The basic principle is that the less those in power involve themselves in matters of trade the more it will be able to flourish and grow, thus creating wealth. Taxes, tariffs or other restrictions that can be laid upon trade will only prove counterproductive. This runs entirely counter to the medieval idea of guilds, that sought to limit trade and production of goods to those who had spent years learning their craft.

Historically, David Ricardo (1772-1823) was one of the leading minds in the advancement of the free trade doctrine. He sought to prove that it could be beneficial not only to the economically strong, but also to the economically weak. He developed this theory and it became known as the theory of “Comparative Advantage.” The key point of the theory was the idea that a region or a country should specialise in goods that are easily and economically made within their borders. By doing this, a sizeable yet easy profit would result and grow from trade with others.

Abolition of Slavery

+4 happiness (lower classes). Clamour for reform

-4 happiness (nobility). Clamour for reform

+6 per turn to town wealth in the region

+30% to cost of constructing plantations

Enhances national prestige

The abolition of slavery removes the right of one man to own another, and outlaws any trade in human beings as property.

The slave trade is hugely profitable for those who engage in it, whether through trade such as that from Africa to the New World, or conquest such as the depredations of European shipping by the Barbary Pirates of North Africa. The morality and necessity of slave owning, however, are disputed. Abolition of the trade has its roots in religious feelings and in radical Enlightenment thought, but its effects are clear: a cessation of slave taking, transportation and exploitation.

Historically, abolition was far from universally popular. William Wilberforce (1759-1833), the MP for Kingston-upon-Hull in Yorkshire, campaigned for many years in the face of bitter opposition from mercantile interests. His eventual success only outlawed slavery in British possessions and British involvement in any foreign trade. The Royal Navy acted as a “world policeman”, attempting to stop the African trade at source. Oddly, English judges had already decided that slaves could become free by stepping onto English soil in 1772. Wilberforce’s work was the start of a process that continues even today with attempts to stop “people trafficking”.

Classical Economics

-1 happiness. Clamour for reform

+10 per turn to town wealth in the region

+6% wealth generated by all buildings

Enhances national prestige

An attempt to understand, explore and explain economic growth and development.

Classical economics seeks to change the way a nation’s wealth is considered. No longer is the amount of money in a king’s treasury the sole measurement of national wealth. The earnings of the populace are now taken into account. With this step forward people leave feudal society and step forward as individuals seeking their own gains for their own benefit.

Classical economics was eventually superseded. Its influence does still linger however, especially within the modern school of thought known as “new classical economics.”

Historically, the school of classical economics was originally created by Scottish philosopher Adam Smith, but David Ricardo is leading the school forward in its beliefs and methods. His debates on such topics as the Corn Laws with Thomas Malthus are giving theorists much to consider. One of the key questions the theory seeks to answer is: how can a society be built upon a system where man seeks to further only his own interests.