Concert of Europe

[Peasant Phill]

I wish to use this tribune to address an international problem. To be more precise, the problem I’ve come to call, the ‘Greek situation’.

I’ve been given a mandate from my lord Sultan Mustafa IV to try and diffuse the current railroad towards a pan-Eurasian anarchy. Because don’t make a mistake, my fellow heads of state, what some see as a chance to wiggle out some territory from under milord’s sphere of influence; I see as the potential excuse for all minorities all over Europe, Asia and Africa to rebel against their rightful rulers.

For this reason I would like the Concert of Europe with me as mandated representative of the Ottoman empire, and only these, to find a solution concerning the Greek rebels. In doing this we shall set an example for all other would-be insurgents.

Muhamed Ali Pasha
Wãli of Egypt
Servant of the Great Sultan Mustafa IV

[Prince Cobra]

I hope it's Ok with the orders update I sent you few days ago. Any news on the progress of the IH?

[Franconicus]

I hope I can post the new chapter on Sunday!

[Franconicus]

Chapter 8 – June 1822 to May 1823

After all the activities on the diplomatic parquet during the last period, things slowed down a bit. However, differences were not solved and actually the trenches between the fractions were getting deeper. So maybe this period was just the silence before … .

PRUSSIA
Prussia tried to calm down the situation after the Hannover deal. She got in contact with the small countries trying to appease their angers and their fears. However, the King of Prussia made it very clear that there was way to soften the treaty with England.
Prussia also started the integration of the new province. One focus of the Prussian government was the enlargement of the Prussian Army.

AUSTRIA
Austria was still angered. Although Vienna hesitated to challenge the Prussian rival, Metternich also got in contact with the small countries as well as the neighbors in the east and west. The results of diplomacy were not published, but the Austrian efforts were probably not in vain.

Austria increased the tariffs on goods from England, but also signed a treaty with Amsterdam to lower the tariffs for raw materials like silk and cotton as well as a trade agreement with the Ottoman Sultan.

The most important meeting, however, was the Conference of Venice, where Metternich met the Lords of the Italian countries as well as observers from the German states (except Prussia) and France. Metternich used this meeting to demonstrate that the King of Sardinia was one of the most important allies of Vienna and that Austria intended to align her Italian policy with him.
The meeting lasted two weeks and in the end, all Italian countries agreed to cooperate and to align their Italy policy. The most important result was an agreement to lower tariffs of some goods between Italy and Austria and to increase tariffs on imports from England, which, however, was not signed by Sardinia. Austria made a similar agreement with Bavaria, Württemberg, Baden and Saxony. These four countries also agreed to improve the trade roads.

Although the meeting of Venice was running rather good for Metternich, it ended with a disaster, questioning all results of the meeting. After the official banquet the participants of the meeting made a parade in decorated gondolas in front of the population of Venice. The procession, lead by the Austrian Kaiser and his guest of honor, the King of Sardinia, was all over sudden stopped by the sound of shouting and shooting. The political police finally pushed back the frightened crowd and ended the confusion. What they then found was a really bloody scene! Four men of the guard of the Austria Kaiser were killed, Kaiser Franz, himself wounded by a graze. Beside him lay the King of Sardinia, the white uniform spangled with red blood. He was perforated by the bullets of a shotgun. He died before one could get him out of the boat.

Security forces shot one assassin. During the next hour about thirty suspects were arrested.

In an open letter Kaiser Franz and the princes condemned the cowardly crime. The corpse was sent to Savoy.
Austrian authorities declared that the murderers were Italian nationalists, possibly incited and supported by English agents.

FRANCE
France condemned the occupation of Hannover as a violation of the treaty of Vienna. The French King put an embargo on Prussian goods and increased tariffs on British goods. Furthermore King Louis offered to help the Spanish King against the Spanish usurpers.

According to an agreement with Bavaria, the French administration started to build an “express” road to Munich.

King Louis gave orders to increase the army.
Due to the bad economic situation of the country, many people left the country to start a new and better life.

ENGLAND
The English Prime Minister Lord Canning had other things to do than to care about the political confusion on the continent.
One more urgent issue was the Ireland revolt, where the rebellion was still going on. During summer, England sent new troops to the island and in autumn they started to push back the Irish rebels. The operations continued throughout winter and the British acted with outmost brutality. British troopers did not make prisoners and they cared little if they killed rebels or innocent citizens. During spring, the defense of the Irish patriots melted away like snow and when the lilies of the valley were in bloom, the last rebels were encircled and killed.
Right after the victory, the British governor started the punishment of the Irish people. Lands of all estates over 20 acres were seized and given to English loyalists. This new class of English landlords started to build militia to ensure suppression of the Irish wish of freedom. Although the government allowed practicing the Catholic faith, Catholics were effectively excluded from positions.

As for America, the British stopped their advance at Boston and introduced a “slash and burn” strategy. Using the strength of the Royal Navy, the British launched operations against New York and Savannah. The invaders managed to surprise and overwhelm the garrisons. Both towns were bombarded and plundered before reinforcements arrived.

The U.S. Navy tried to avoid a direct confrontation with the Royal Navy. Instead, the ships operated at the Caribbean Sea, sinking English merchants and raiding British ports.

The English send a squadron of seven ships-of-the-line and a dozen frigates to end this disturbance. Mid of November, a vanguard of four frigates sighted two ships, obviously two American frigates. After a wild race the U.S. ships were cornered and sunk, while one British ship was badly damaged and had to turn to Port Royal. The British ships also spotted more ships, but could not follow them due to the sunset. Due to the course of the American ships, the British commander assumed that the Americans were withdrawing into the harbor of New Orleans and decided to attack them there. When he reached the port, he actually found it filled with U.S. ships, many trading ships but warships, including several big pots. He decided to attack. He sent messages to the HQ and waited for the wind to turn.
The Americans saw the British armada and the American commander started to prepare the defense. Four battleships big battleships were tied in line to welcome the British ships. Three big merchant ships were set on bottom and used as artillery platforms. Others were sunk to narrow the fairway. More batteries were place along the coast, reinforced by all unnecessary guns and sailors from the ships. All day and all night thousands of men and women worked on barricades to protect the batteries and the facilities. Then, the English attacked. The first strike was against the batteries at both sides of the harbor entrance. The ships-of-the-line bombarded the American position, while frigates carried English marine soldiers to the shores. The fight went back and forth. At the right flank of the English, three frigates were sinking and the rest retreated. At the left side, however, the British soldiers reached the beach and assaulted the batteries. A counterstrike of American militia, however, drove them back to their ships.
When the British commander realized, that the first attempted had failed he set signs to regroup his forces. Now the battleships headed straight for the harbor, while the frigates kept on peppering the land borne batteries.
The British ships-of-the-line attacked, but they had to maneuver in a very narrow fairway and were welcomed by broadsides of the American battleships and peppered by numerous guns from the swimming platforms and the harbor. With a quarter of an hour, one ship-of-the-line was sunk and another one rammed the bottom. However, the British did what they could to reply the fire and the U.S. ships as well as the harbor were damaged badly. But still all U.S. ships were firing and the bombardment from the batteries did also not calm down.
The British commander had to call his ships back. Still he was decided to break the resistance of the American defense and to destroy the main part of the U.S. Navy. It was already getting dark, when the British started their third assault. This time, they had three fire ships ahead. Although the Americans managed to sink two of them, the remaining one reached the American battleships and set the middle one on fire. Now the line of American ships was broken and under the cover of smoke and darkness the British ships slipped into the battle. A wild and chaotic night battle began. Ships appeared out of the dark, immediately firing at everything and immediately being bombarded from all sides. In the flickering light of burning ships and the burning town the fighting continued and it was around midnight, when the English finally withdraw.

When the British admiral gathered the fleet, he saw the terrible result of the battle. Three ships-of-the-lines were lost together with numerous smaller ships. Thousands of sailors were missed in action. All remaining ships were badly damaged, some hardly able to stay at the surface. The admiral had no alternative but to lead the fleet back northwards. On the way, he lost another sol and two minor ships in a storm.

Although the Americans had repelled the British assault, they hardly felt like winners. The city of New Orleans was burning at different places, the French Quarter was heavily damaged, the harbor facilities useless. The fairways were blocked by sunken ships and a handful of badly damaged wrecks were the rest of the formerly proud U.S.S. Navy. The American commander sent the wounded to the local hospital and then he tried to afloat the remaining ships and set sail to reach Savanna, where he hoped that he could repair his ships. His convoy consisted of about a dozen warships and thirty merchant ships.
However, before he could enter the port of Savanna, he hit a British blockade squadron. Although the British were badly outnumbered, none of the American ships was able to fight with normal combat strength. When the Royal Navy ships attacked, the American formation broke apart and the English could get between the confused American ships. The American commander gave up the fight and ordered his ships to run into the harbor of Savanna. In the end, two battleships, three frigates and two merchant ships reached the shelter, while the rest was sunk in front of the American coast. After the battle, the English ships continued to block the entrance of the harbor.

While the English concentrated on sea borne operations, the Americans gathered their forces around Boston. The British garrison had to watch the increasing strength of the besiegers, while it was still fighting against sabotage acts inside the town.

In the Far East reports about acts of piracy became more frequent. The English started to establish patrols, but the Royal Navy was stretched too thin to give effective protection.

At China, authorities confiscated and destroyed the magazines of the English dealers. Three English citizens were wounded and ten were arrested.

RUSSIA
The Russian Empire is still suffering from the passivity of the Czar. The social and economic reforms died in the sump of corruption, moral and combat strength of the Imperial Army was rapidly eroding.
Due to the lack of political freedom and the oppressive poverty, many left the country.

OTTOMAN EMPIRE
The war on the Greek mainland came to an end. The Ottomans also regained control of almost all islands. The Turkish forces arrested all those, they blamed for rebellion. Men were shot and women and children sold into slavery.
Fighting went on at Crete. Here, the Turkish operations were commanded by the son of Muhammad Ali. The Ottomans control the ports, the rebels control the mountains. The Egyptian fleet supported the operations with supply.
The Royal Navy tried to support the Greek rebels. During February, it bombarded the port of Rethymnon, at May three frigates disembarked guns at the southern coast of Crete. After this operation, they met an Egyptian convoy, accompanied by five frigates and one cannon boat. The Egyptian warships immediately attacked the British vessels, while the transports kept on their course. During a short fight, the English sunk the cannon boat and one frigate, while they damaged two other frigates. They did not lose a ship, although all three were damaged slightly.

King Louis of France and Navarra died end of May.

[Prince Cobra]

The Austrian government is shocked by the news of the death of their loyal ally, the King of Peidmont and the bold attempt on the life of His Imperial Majesty Emperor Francis von Habsburg. How do these rebels dare to маke an attempt on the life of two of the most noble people of Europe? No man can judge their lord and their lord has no other thought but to secure the well-being of his people. This assassination will not come without consequences and measures against the terror of such band of brigands will be taken. Those loyal subjects in the Empire who are willing to aid us in our fair struggle against these harmful elements shall not be forgotten by their lord, H.I.M Emperor Francis. Austria will be extremely grateful if other countries jojn our cause and thus securing that no shelter shall be given to these sick people.

Austria is also disturbed by the news of the violance on the Balkan peninsula committed by the Ottoman and Egyptian forces but also by the British fleet that seems to have attacked the Ottoman garrisons by mistake. We can not see any reason for this doubtful step behind the British action. The way out of this crisis are reforms not more violance. Surely, the Greek rebels can put down their weapons if the new reforms increase their rights as subjects of the Ottoman sultan. Austria will keep contact with theri allies from Russia, France and the Netherlands in order to clarify the situation. We are also open for talks with Berlin and probably also London.

I also give a letter from my master to the French embassador with the condolences for the loss of his cousin Louis XVIII.


Prince Klemens von Metternich, Chancellor of Austria

[Peasant Phill]

My fellow heads of state,

We hereby want to express our condolences towards the families of Louis XVIII and the Sardinian royal family.

As the Chancellor of Austria already expressed so eloquently: “No man can judge their lord and their lord has no other thought but to secure the well-being of his people.”
For make no mistake, if the assassination of Piemont proved anything, it’s that the threat from anarchists has never been this severe. We cannot stress the need for a unified answer against these terrorists enough.

Therefore I renew my summoning of the Concert of Europe with a representative of the Ottoman Sultan to send a strong signal against anarchy and to devise a unified list of measures against anarchy.

Muhamed Ali Pasha
Wãli of Egypt
Servant of the Great Sultan Mustafa IV

[Franconicus]

Numbers:

Austria debt 99 mio/army size 145,000 + 38,000/next period’s budget 16 mio
Prussia debt 152 mio/army size 130,000 + 30,000/next period’s budget 15 mio
Russia debt 196 mio /army size 215,000/next period’s budget 13 mio
Ottoman debt 78 mio/army size 200,000/next period’s budget 10 mio
England debt 115 mio/army size 45,000/next period’s budget 11 mio
France debt 191 mio/army size 32,000/next period’s budget 8,5
Netherlands debt 26 mio/army size 20,000/next period’s budget 11 mio
Egypt debt 39 mio/army size 50,000/next period’s budget 5 mio

[Peasant Phill]

OOC: I'll be away until monday.

[King Kurt]

First - an apology - I will not be quite so active from now on as I have changed organisations and work place - and the site is blocked at work!! - so I will have to rely on the time I can grab in the evening.

To business

I, like other nations, send my condolences to the Sardinian and French royal families. In particular I condemn the assasination of the King of Sardinia - nothing can be gained by such acts. I trust the Austrian leader is not too shaken by these events - a shotgun attack against the person next to him must be a terrible shock and what luck to have escaped with just a graze when surely the anarcists would have valued him as a far more valuable target - it is almost as if they missed him delibarately as if they were obeying orders.

As for Greece, unlike the other unholy European powers, I can not stand by and let good Christian people be slaughtered by the heathen forces of the Sultan. My action has brought the Sultan to the peace table and I would propose a Congress in Malta of all the Concert of Europe to discuss the Balkans issue with the Sultan as a honoured guest and equal. I propose Malta as a venue on grounds of security as it is obvious that areas such as the Austrian empire are unsafe due to the degree of political turmoil.

Signed this day
Lord Canning

[Prince Cobra]

First - an apology - I will not be quite so active from now on as I have changed organisations and work place - and the site is blocked at work!! - so I will have to rely on the time I can grab in the evening.

To business

I, like other nations, send my condolences to the Sardinian and French royal families. In particular I condemn the assasination of the King of Sardinia - nothing can be gained by such acts. I trust the Austrian leader is not too shaken by these events - a shotgun attack against the person next to him must be a terrible shock and what luck to have escaped with just a graze when surely the anarcists would have valued him as a far more valuable target - it is almost as if they missed him delibarately as if they were obeying orders.

If the British secret services know something their Austrian colleagues do not, then they are welcomed to share their knowledge so that the criminals are caught and hanged. I mean if they are really interested in such a good end for the justice.

As for Greece, unlike the other unholy European powers, I can not stand by and let good Christian people be slaughtered by the heathen forces of the Sultan. My action has brought the Sultan to the peace table and I would propose a Congress in Malta of all the Concert of Europe to discuss the Balkans issue with the Sultan as a honoured guest and equal. I propose Malta as a venue on grounds of security as it is obvious that areas such as the Austrian empire are unsafe due to the degree of political turmoil.

Signed this day
Lord Canning

I am against such an idea. Travelling by sea is uncomfortable and dangerous especially for people who have not used to travel by sea. It would surely put the diplomats on inequal ground since many of them would be recovering from sea sickness. The British Navy is also far away, which makes me think it is a real madness to make such a trip.

May we hear who are these unholy European powers?

Your idea is to bring the Sultan to his knees simply because he refuses to be your puppet. In addition, I do not hear that the British forces in Ireland and their deed in La Roshelle gives you power to judge the other sovereigns of Europe.

I would asssure you that the police is already working on the assassination and that in a month the organisation, which organised this bold deed will be hanged. In addition, I can not see any hint of instability of the Austrian Empire.
-------

Austria will discuss the future seat of the Congress with their allies and then it will make an official declaration. One-sided suggestions are not a good idea.

[Cultured Drizzt fan]

OOC: Sorry, was gone for a while, catching up now, also, I am leaving on sunday for a week. MY trusted vassal will be filling in for me, as he has proven himself quite adept at it.

[Csargo]

The Prussian government mourns the loss of two great leaders during these few weeks. King Louis rebuilt France after the revolution and Napoleon's rule, and he will be missed greatly. The assassination of the King of Sardinia is a shock and we send our condolences to his family and his people. We also hope that the Emperor makes a speedy recovery and will aid in any way to help catch the perpetrators if the Austrian government so wishes.

If the Austrian government wishes to discuss anything with the King they are free to do so.

[King Jan III Sobieski]

From the French Court

Charles X, King of France, wishes to thank all of his brother kings in offering their condolences after the loss of his brother, Louis XVIII.

[Peasant Phill]

The prime minister of England, like his predecessor, seems to enjoy aggravating his fellow heads of state to no extent. I just see it as a matter of poor and shows a distinctive lack of respect towards his equals. I foresee that this attitude, shared by most of his countrymen, may one day lay his Island to ruins.
The blood on my Sultans’ hands is the same as on the hands of all of us. Lord Canning would be good to remember all the Englishmen slaughtered by his police force before he demonises my Sultan.
He would also be good to remember that I already repeatedly called for actions from the CoE before his ships attacked some Egyptian merchants. Peace bringer says he, Ha warmonger says I.

But aside from putting hypocrites in there place, I want to start the negotiations.
The Ottoman empire doesn’t look kindly on anarchists and insurgents. As such, we can’t show clemency on the Greek rebels. As I said before those who stand against the Sultans’ representative stands against the Sultan himself.
We do however see the need to avoid these wastes of resources and are therefore willing to give non-muslim minorities some more rights.

Muhamed Ali Pasha
Wãli of Egypt
Representative of the Great Sultan Mustafa IV

[Prince Cobra]

The Austrian government welcomes the wise words of the Wali of Egypt and will encourage the process of reforms and giving more rights to the Christian minorities within the Ottoman Empire.

[Franconicus]

Friends!

I am stuck in RL-issues and PC trouble. Therefore, I will answer your questions with delay!
Some remarks:
- There will be no tasks this turn. I guess all of you know what to do. I may send some of you some hinds.
- Russia is available again. - sigh -
- If you recruit soldiers, they will only be able to fight one turn afterwards. There skills increase with training and equipment.
- If you are absent for some time, please post it here in advance.
Thank you!

[Cultured Drizzt fan]

My good friend the Wali of Egypt has said all I believe needs to be said on this subject. He has proven himself a hundred times over, and I have nothing to add to his truthful words.





OOC:
I have returned.

[Caius]

Someone told me Russia was available.

[Prince Cobra]

Someone told me Russia was available.

I hope this finally ends the leaderless period in the Russian Empire! Waiting for confirmation from Franc to start working.

[Franconicus]

Someone told me Russia was available.

Your welcome, Caius. Enjoy this hard and honorable fraction!


Here are some articles, that might interest you:
La Gazette (Paris)

Our correspondent sent a report about the English campaign against La Rochelle. This disclosure, based on interviews of veterans of a Scottish regiments, brings to light the shocking truth about what George called “helping the French people”.

The former soldiers report about the hard fights. They tell that even Waterloo was a cakewalk compared to the assault of the hill, later known as “Little Gibraltar”. On May 1st, the British had taken this position, from which they controlled the whole town. They began to bombard the town with shrapnel.
“The rebels soon realized that their fight was lost and tried to surrender. They came to us in big numbers, but we kept on firing and drove them back into the burning city.”
One must keep in mind that at this time the town was filled with thousands of innocent women and children, too.
“We kept on firing, even though our barrels were red hot. The French were
So pressed, that no bullet went astray. And – as our sergeant said – each bullet that killed a rebel also killed a cursed Frenchman.”
Finally, when the British seized the town, they killed all French that were still alive. Then they burned down the whole town.
“I heard that the sergeant asked our commander, if we should spare the harbor, because we would need them for supply. But the commander replied that we won’t stay for long. Our objective was to destroy the port, so that it would not serve as a base for French ships for a long time. Well, what can I say, we did our job!”

TIMES:
CLOTH MARKET UPSIDE DOWN
During the last decade, we saw a revolution on the cloth market, as the English started the industrial fabrication of cloth from cotton. These products were so cheap, that they swamped the European market. While the English factory owners became rich, weavers all over Europe were ruined. But now, the tables turn again.
The war between the English against their former American colonies stopped the imports of cotton from the new world. The only other source of cotton is Egypt, part of the Ottoman Empire and therefore surely no friend of the English. Therefore, most of the cotton trade is done by the Dutch, shipping the Egyptian raw material to Amsterdam, where it is bought from English traders. Nevertheless, English cotton factories run dry and the first owners were bankrupt, so the English were forced to negotiate with Egypt.
Muhammad Ali, the governor of Egypt, finally agreed to trade directly with England, again, but simultaneously he raised the tariffs on cotton exports. Adventurers saw a chance to participate on this business and drove the price even higher. Today, the price for raw cotton is 20 times as high as it used to be 5 years ago.
On the other side, this gives the traditional weavers some air to breath: the price for their products also increased, but only about 200 percent.
Another effect of the high cotton price is the growing activity of blockade runners, which try to bypass the British blockade around the U.S. and ship the cotton to Mexico, from where it is shipped to Europe by Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch or French ships. There are reports, that even English merchants buy American cotton at Vera Cruz, because this is still cheaper than to buy from Egypt.



Gazeta (Lisbon)

FIGHT FOR FREEDOM ENDS IN SLAVERY

We all followed the fighting of the Greek patriots with sympathy. Now it came to a bitter end; the Ottoman suppressors triumphed and so many Greek are dead or had to leave their country. But that does not mean, that the tragedy hit rock bottom. The Sultan enjoyed to send thousands of Greek into slavery, not only captured warriors, but also their wives and children as well as other innocent people. Especially the habitants of the Greek islands were deported and sent on the slave markets of Africa and Arabia. Our sources report of 100,000 to 250,000.


Maybe you can send your orders until next Friday! Is that alright?

[Cultured Drizzt fan]

Wait when did that happen? I sure did not say to send the Greeks into slavery......

[Prince Cobra]

I will be absent this weekend and probably the next one (only the weekends). This can slow me down a bit. Yet, I hope I will get some answers until I go back.

[Peasant Phill]

So orders are due tomorrow?

Franc, I haven't got a reply yet on my PM I send you.

[Prince Cobra]

So orders are due tomorrow?

Franc, I haven't got a reply yet on my PM I send you.

The same here, in Austria. This probably means I will be ready on Monday/Tuesday/ Wednesday with the orders.

[King Jan III Sobieski]

I've sent in my last orders. Farewell, all. It's been a pleasure!

[Prince Cobra]

Declaration From The Kaiser:



We, Kaiser Franz, condemn the assassination of our dear friend, the King of Sardinia and the villains who tried to kill us also. We will make sure any other criminals will get captured and punished.

We would like to see peace restored in the east. The fighting not so long ago with the Polish against our Russian allies and now the Greeks against our Ottoman friends, is troublesome. While the questionable means that our Ottoman friends used to put down the rebellion still trouble us, but we understand fully that rebellion is not acceptable, in Russian territory from the Polish Rebels, or anywhere for that matter.

The Kaiser, ourselves, are watching the issue on Hannover and still watching the Ottoman issues along with the other problems in Europe. We hope we can come to a better conclusion regarding the Hannover issue and we believe the Ottoman Sultan can give security to his subjects. While we may have a lot of problems, we think we can settle them.



Kaiser Franz I

OOC: Made in collaboration with Warman. He has not created any alternative account in the Org. for the purpose.

[Franconicus]

I have received orders from France, Egypt and Ottoman;
still waiting for England, Prussia, Austria and Russia!

[FearofNC]

Hmmm....sounds interesting... Can I sign up as the Netherlands?

[King Kurt]

I have received orders from France, Egypt and Ottoman;
still waiting for England, Prussia, Austria and Russia!

Ftanc - I thought I sent some time ago?

[Prince Cobra]

Hmmm....sounds interesting... Can I sign up as the Netherlands?

Warluster is playing as them. But Piedmont and France are available...