I was playing a random game with a Deity Level, raging hordes, and seven civilizations. I played as the great maritime power of Holland. My competitors were England, France, Spain, Russia, China, and India. Things began on a good note. I had grown quite a bit, ruling 15 cities as Stadtholder William IV of the United Provinces of the Netherlands and I was also the most advance at the time. This was due to my policy of "3 long distance trade routes per city." Things were rolling alone just fine. Spain and England, my traditional arch enemies, were quite passive and I had just concluded an alliance with Russia. I was gettin' approximately 800 gold per turn!Of course, ruling under a Republic has it's advantages. :)

However, when the year 1050 B.C. (or sometime close) came along, England and France were getting pretty upset with my success. Of course, realizing that a long and protracted war will mean disaster for my sea based economy (I updated trade routes every few turns, so the oceans were always filled with Dutch caravels and galleons,) I used every trick in the book to stave off a conflict. However, diplomacy ultimately failed when I did not succeed in convincing England to leave me alone. Heck! I even PAYED them to let me be! My army was wimpy compared to the English, but my navy was mediocre.

Still, it had more transports than it did warships. Fearing for the livelihood of the United Provinces, I payed France and Russia to fight my war for me, thereby minimizing the threat. It worked. While England was battling France and Russia, I took the opportunity to foster good relations with Queen Bess. I gave the English several advances and won an alliance. With the western front giving way to Russian and French troops, I realized that I had created a monster when Russia AND France declared war on me! Looking to Spain for assistance (China and India were just too far away and England was losing the fight) I convinced Isabella to fight for my cause.

While my allies fought a land battle, I took the opportunity to extend the influence of the United Provinces (and as a safety net should the Netherlands be overrun by Russian and French forces.) I founded New Amsterdam, Fort Orange, Fort Nassau and Curacao. With these cities, I began my trade policy again. That is, 3 trades per city. The war was horrible back home. Russia and France had gained a lot of ground over Spain and they were on the verge of total collapse. Upon seeing my ally about to perish, I immediately rushed my ground troops (most of which were musketeers and dragoons which and odd piece of cannon or two) to Spain.

Needless to say, my timely intervention saved the Spanish from destruction. But the problem with French and Russian troops in Spanish cities still remained. So instead of taking part in a battle to the end with my rivals, I gave the Spanish knowledge of Gunpowder and Metallurgy instead. It took them quite awhile, but eventually, the Spanish retook all of their cities in a few fairly short and quick wars. The Netherlands was safe for the time being and I had fought three successful wars in India and China, thereby increasing my holdings.

However, I botched the job when war broke out between me and Cathy the Great. She captured my port city of Schiermonnikoog and ravaged Haarlem. I took it personally, but because of a SEVERE strain on resources, I sued for peace. Needless to say, Haarlem was rebuilt in all its honor and Schiermonnikoog was once again Dutch in the 3rd Russo-Dutch War, as I called it.

So at that point in time, it seemed that the Dutch would have to fight for its interests. Okay, we're gonna skip a few years ahead now. It was about 1450 or so. England and France had started to colonize nearby islands and Russia encompassed the little island of the United Provinces (my colonial holdings were far larger.) Spain was almost dead in the water. Her economy had been devastated by almost continous warfare with Russia and England and nothing much could be said about her colonial holdings, for she had none.

The United Provinces prospered, but the threat of war loomed over my lucrative markets. England and France had come into direct competition with each other and since I had a treaty with France, it meant that if the Anglo-French war started, I would be caught in the middle.

My fears were soon confirmed when the English attacked Bordeaux followed by a French assault on Edinburgh. As a good ally should, I declared war on England and assisted my French comrade in arms. The war was not to be quick and painless. It was to be very grueling, long, and exhausting. My colonies even came under attack! The worst was yet to come, trust me. China seized the opportunity and signed the "Shanghai Pact" with India to contact Dutch aggression. The following turn, Chinese Frigates bombarded the city of Nieu Geissburg. Yes, I was at war.

A major conflict and I was caught in the thick of things. Okay we can skip a few turns because the war lasted till about 1620 or so. Needless to say, my empire was a shadow of its former self. Having lost Nieu Geissburg to China (the only trading post there and the cash cow of the empire) I succumbed to depression as did the entire empire. My wars had left many unhappy people in my cities and I spent a HUGE chunk of cash on makin' them happy again.

From then on, I vowed not to wage war just for whimsical purposes. Until then, the wars I fought were clearly just to exercise my military might and perhaps gain an important city of two. I had decided that I would be a more active player on the diplomatic scene. The alliance with France had begun to sour and it seemed at the time that England had more to offer me. Of course, I didn't have to break the alliance myself. Louis XIV did just as well and even launched a surprise raid on Rotterdam.

Yes, yet another horrible war to contend with. My money was stretched to the limit and my army was extremely outdated. No matter. If I was going to die, at least go out with a bang, eh? Well, as a matter of fact, I didn't die. Hah! Surprising as it may be, my armies actually held off the French and I was still fightin' mostly with Elephants and Catapults! (The musketeers and dragoons were all but used up in the Spanish Campaign and I was in no shape to build up my military.) The Dutch Empire prospered for quite sometime.

That is, until the new technologies came out. Armors, Artillery, Fighters, Bombers and Battleships were too much for the tiny republic. By 1940 or so, I had lost my ENTIRE overseas empire to the French and British. Worse still, they were fighting amongst themselves for the biggest prize in the "New World," my old colonial capital of New Amsterdam! It was a fine city. Built near three natural resource squares, Gems, Spices, and Bananas that equaled A LOT of trade! My tiny republic was reduced to it's former self, consisting of only one small island and 8 cities, the other 7 original cities having been captured by Spain and Russia in seven previous wars.

Seeing that the time had come to relinquish control of the republic to another Stadtholder, I retired. The game left off with China, India, England, and France squabbling over who had the right to expand into the islands that were formally the Dutch East Indies, at the time occupied by England and one city by France. Well, so ends my sad tale of how an empire was ruined due to a ruler's lust for power and money.

And just because I had money, I squandered almost all of my treasury in 20 different wars. Yes, I actually kept count. In all that time, I didn't even gain a city. I may as well have built my empire without war getting in my way! Anyway, the moral of the story is: "When it comes down to two decision: a) War b) Peace, always choose Peace. Why? Because if you underestimate your opponent, you'd be spitting sand out from your mouth while your palace burns to the ground."
Okaythankyoutheendgoodnightbuh-bye

Ryan Carlisle: Former Stadtholder of the United Provinces.