Concert of Europe: Gameplay Thread

[Dereich]

Statement from Lisbon

His Majesty wants it known and understood that despite recent troubling events in some European courts Portugal remains happily in a state of international peace and tranquility, focused entirely on the well being of His Majesty's subjects. We encourage all French or Dutch traders disadvantaged by recent policy changes to consider doing business through Portuguese ports where we will happily accommodate you in the spirit of Christian Brotherhood without fear of reprisal.

Joseph Braganza, King of Portugal

[Dereich]

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x George II
By the Grace of God, King of Great Britain, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Archtreasurer and Prince-Elector of the Holy Roman Empire

X Joseph, King of Portugal and the Algarve


In light of the various and sundry misdeeds of both the French King, Austrian Archduchess, and their assorted allies and in accordance with Our sacred promises and agreements, We do hereby Declare War against the French King and his Accomplices.

[Dereich]

On the Recent Proclamation of the British King:

While We see the justice and wisdom of the current conflict against the French King, let none dispute that We are true believers in the One, True, Holy, and Apostolic Church. His Holiness has been regrettably misinformed of the current nature of the conflict, and would undoubtedly have seen the true situation if he had been properly informed.

Perhaps this misunderstanding, combined with the stresses of war and the unruliness of His subjects convinced the British King to make his statement on his Catholic subjects in Ireland. If this is the case, as it surely must be, We ask Him now to heed cooler heads and retract His ridiculous demand. To punish the good Catholics of Ireland for the delinquency of a few rabblerousers by forcing them to choose between their lives or their eternal souls is something no Catholic King can or should ignore.

We assure all the faithful that Portuguese men and arms will not be sacrificed in an unjust war. On behalf of all good and moral people, We DEMAND that this egregious proclamation be retracted IMMEDIATELY before the entire cause is rendered despicable and immoral.

Joseph, King of Portugal and the Algarve  

[Dereich]

The French King claims to be acting for the Church, but is this really the case? Did he not recently, out of petty rage at the exposing of his crimes, advance a new candidate for the Polish throne chosen by neither God nor the Sejm? The attempt of the French King to clothe himself in the dignity of the Faith while he simultaneously attempts to dethrone a Catholic King in favor of his own puppet is but another example of his perfidy and lack of morals.

We would tell the French King to make peace with ALL Catholic monarchs before he attempts to act as anything more than the hypocritical and ungodly despot that he is.

Joseph, King of Portugal and the Algarve

[Dereich]

We thank His Catholic Majesty for his quick and decisive action in resolving the injustice caused by French belligerence. 

[Dereich]

HOLY ROMAN EMPEROR FRANCIS ADDRESSES THE DIET OF HUNGARY

Noble gentleman of Hungary, I address you today not as an Emperor or as royal regent but as, first and foremost, a grieving widower and a father. My wife, your Queen who bore nothing but goodwill towards Her Magyar subjects, was cut down in her prime by a ferocious tyrant. Bloody Frederick would have you believe your Queen committed suicide in her grief at the loss of a single battle. Nonsense!

As the man who knew Her best, I tell you that your Queen would not abandon her husband, her children , or her people. The notion that She, a faithful and ever-loyal Catholic, would stain her immortal soul by taking her own life is absurd! I ask you, noble Magyars, to look further at the man of blood who would claim that he is innocent of your Queen's murder. A man who has done nothing but wage war since the day he took up his crown. A blackguard who was caught taking the life of our fair and noble friend, Empress Elizaveta, just as he took our own ruler's life. An assassin who takes the life of anyone, even Kings or Emperors, who dares oppose him. I tell you that I myself will be at risk for speaking these truths. I remind you that this barbarian even now has my son and your King caught in his infernal clutches.

Frederick has devoured Saxony. He has devoured Bavaria. He has devoured Elizaveta. And he has devoured our Queen. Now, with the help of your heathen former occupiers, he would devour my son, Bohemia, Austria, and Hungary too. Most August Diet, I beseech you: help me save my son and the Monarchy before this tyrant liquidates us and all of Catholic Civilization! I beg this Diet to furnish an army to save its King and avenge its fallen Queen. Do not be seized with the timidity that has shaken your Germanic counterparts. March, loyal subjects! Your King's friends are strong and its enemies shaken; the time to press forward is now! With your aid, the Monarchy could be saved and its terrible enemies be forced to do what they hate more than anything else: make peace.

Until the time that Francis, King of Hungary is safe, I call on this Diet to stay in emergency session. I vow before God on high that my son and all his descendants will remember the decisions that you, his loyal nobles, make here today. My son and his descendants will respect Hungary's privileges, its Golden Bull, and above all its Diet. I vow in his name that this body will be frequently assembled, that your concerns will be addressed, and your burdens will be light.

God save the Diet and may God save the King of Hungary.

[Dereich]

It astounds the mind that any good Christian would give a passing thought as to the opinion of the Mussulman sultan. So instead of acknowledging whatever statement he believes is relevant, I will instead ask that Churches within my son's domains as well as throughout the Holy Roman Empire spend a moment in prayer for the lives of all good Christians caught under the thumb of Mohommedan tyranny and that they may be one day free.


As for Bloody Frederick, I have made myself clear. The poisonous opinions of the man who murdered my wife are irrelevant. His opinion is as worthless as that of any murderer. He will face justice for his crimes, either in this life or the next.

[Dereich]

I suppose the people of Ireland will be glad to hear that the British King only intended to fight for "religious diversity and tolerance" when he said:

January 1757
All Catholics in Ireland who wish to preserve their well-being must convert to the Church of England and commit the following oath to an officer of the British Army or become subject to imprisonment, torture, severe fining, banishment, and even death for their continued disloyalty. Violation of the Oath is punishable by death and death alone. Good and loyal Catholics across the realm are encouraged to take the same oath, to assure His Majesty the King of their continued loyalty.

It is an interesting claim to tolerance when the only Catholic who is willing to "tolerate" this shameful alliance could only be made to do so after being imprisoned for over a year by his new Prussian masters.

As for Italy, I would advise His Serenity to look around: many of his Italian compatriots have been active participants in the fight since this atrocious war began. I myself am Grand Duke of Tuscany; does the war not touch Italy through me?

[Dereich]

As representative of the Hapsburg Crown I am willing to consider any option to save the Monarch and the Monarchy, no matter how unreasonable or unlikely to succeed.

[Dereich]

A ceasefire while Imperial territory, especially the Imperial seat of Vienna, continue to suffer from oppressive occupation is an unconscionable proposition. We decline.

[Dereich]

A ceasefire while Imperial territory, especially the Imperial seat of Vienna, continue to suffer from oppressive occupation is an unconscionable proposition. We decline.

Very well.

The Conference of Venice is hereby planned for late 1758. The following powers are invited:

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of France
The Archduchy of Austria
The Empire of Russia
The Ottoman Empire

All nations must acknowledge the League of Armed Neutrality's humanitarian missions to aid the people displaced by conflict and submit to a ceasefire until the Conference is held. Should any nation fail to do so, they shall simply be excluded from the Conference.

Does the trading power of Venice not recognize the nation of Denmark-Norway? That is a great slight, indeed! We would be allies, but it is clear the countries of Italy like Lombardia in the hands of Vienna.

It is difficult for "the hands of Vienna" to sound as sinister as you might intend when Vienna currently stands occupied. Indeed, currently the Empire's ability to compel anything at all rests not on force but entirely on the soundness of our reasoning and the righteousness of our propositions.

And the exclusion of Denmark was less a slight than a wise understanding by Venice that true resolution of the conflict requires an agreement of above named countries, not all belligerents. Sweden, Saxony, Bavaria, Ireland, and several other states are also belligerents but were not invited. Including more and more countries only makes the conference more likely to fail.

[Dereich]

Barring an unconditional surrender, the Hapsburg Monarchy will not court any discussion that would see the Crown lose any of its Kingdoms. This position is not subject to change and will not be discussed by the Crown any further.

[Dereich]

In Defense of the Empire

Princes, Subjects, and Citizens of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, a tragedy has occurred. Without the consent of God or of any man except himself, the King in Prussia has attempted to obliterate the ties that have protected and joined the German people. It is my duty as your Emperor to lay bare for you the sad details of this usurpation, to defend the Empire, and to call on you, the German People, to save the nation we all share.

After declaring war on Austria and her allies for frivolous causes and failing for years to subdue his enemies in the field, the King in Prussia turned to devious tricks to enforce his will on the German People. Claiming to use the votes of himself, a prisoner, another man whose consent he stole through imprisonment, and a kidnapped child the Prussian claimed the right to dissolve an empire which has lasted 900 years. The other electors were not consulted. The Imperial Diet was not consulted. No other Imperial Prince was consulted. The German People had no input on his decision. It is his will that you either be alone and unprotected or forced into his new "alliance" in which he and he alone is allowed to speak.

I would ask you all: what is a German? What defines a German? It cannot be language; it is common knowledge that Swabians, Saxons, Swiss and Bavarians can barely understand each other. It cannot be culture; how can one say with certainty that the stolid Catholics of the Archdiocese of Mainz and the freewheeling merchants of the Free City of Lübeck share the same culture? No, the only answer is our shared history. A history that has, for a millennia, been shepherded over by this Empire.   Our Empire, fair subjects, is a special and uniquely German institution. The ancient Romans took frequent note of the independence and the broad differences of the Germanic peoples. This difference is uniquely represented in our Empire.

Over 300 duchies, bishoprics, and free cities are represented in the Imperial Diet. The Empire has protected the diversity of the German people for centuries. Where else could such a diversity and flourishing of peoples exist in peace and safety? I invite you all, look at all of Christendom. Look at the history of Spain, France, and Russia. Large states devour small ones. Kings rule over distant provinces with little concern as to their people. Look to Italy; large states use smaller ones as pawns,  cities see no way to resolve conflicts but war, and no people ever know peace. Subjects! Do not ignore the benefits of our union! It is only in the Empire that your Emperor does not conscript and march you to war against your will. It is only the Empire which gives you a voice through the electors and the Diet. It is the Empire which protects you against outside conquerors. Look upon the current war: though the fight has grown bitter and though my children have been taken and my wife murdered, I have not forced you to fight or sworn to destroy the King in Prussia.

In his dissolution message, The King in Prussia promises "modernity." But what could this mean? You need only look at his actions. The Prussians would bring the domination of the strong and the submission of the weak. Even now, good subjects, at this very moment the King in Prussia plots to begin annexing and conquering Imperial lands by gobbling up Saxony. By removing your Emperor, he seeks nothing less than to rule over all the newly unprotected German people with an iron fist. And what of his fabled "reforms?" Good subjects, Frederick seeks only to place you in new chains. You need only look to Prussia as it is now, where all are forced into subservience to what his own ministers call "The Army with a Country." To fight and die for nobles who care only for glory and bloodlust; this is the fate of the peoples that Prussia seeks to incorporate. This modern-day Sparta seeks to use military might to destroy free peoples; should we not act, we will end up as the free peoples of Athens and the Delian League did before. There is no peace there. There is no freedom there. Only years of war and death. This is the fate that Frederick would subject you to.

People and Princes! Do not allow yourselves to be separated, to be forced into submission! Even now, Your Emperor seeks only justice and to return the lost sheep to the fold, not reprisals or the destruction of his enemies.  As long as the Imperial Diet and the Emperor remain your Empire will stand for you. Defend it! It is only by immediate action that the German People might be spared from domination and conscription. The time to act is now!

[Dereich]

Before Prussia, before Denmark, before the Turks, before England, before Russia, and before France the German people came together in sacred union. For 1000 this Empire has been the greatest force on Earth. We have faced down pagan hordes, papal armies, the French, the Polish, the English, religious schism, and the Muslim Caliph. None managed to destroy the Empire.

You say we stand alone? We stand together. And together the German People will confront your challenge and defeat it. Better men than you have failed to destroy the Empire for 1000 years and failed; we have nothing to fear from you.


And I would pose the same question:

Lords of the German League, who is your enemy? You were formed as "an alliance against the foreign armies moving through your lands." Where is the foreign army? The French have departed. The Russians have departed. Neither, as should now be obvious, acted to massacre Germans or to annex German states, only to defend against the Prussian aggressors who declared war upon them. Is your Emperor the foreign army? Or are you all so in thrall to Frederick that you will follow him to the death, even when he fights only Germans so that he might dominate the German people?

I remind you all now, as I have said before, I do not seek the destruction of you, your people, or even the King in Prussia. There is no shame or punishment awaiting you if you hesitate to fight your Imperial kin.

Princes Oldenburg, Mecklenburg, Bavaria, Hesse-Kassel, Brunswick, Ansbach, and Palatine! Answer the German Princes and People! Why do you continue to fight your brothers? If this League is anything but a means of Prussian domination, we demand answers from YOU, not from Frederick! Speak or show the world the true face of this so-called German League!

[Dereich]

It may be undiplomatic, but I feel it would not be right as Regent to the King of Hungary to allow the Porte to embarrass itself in front of the world with its ignorance. The Kingdom of Hungary IS a fully independent realm. In fact, it is ruled by a large class of nobles who elect representatives to an institution known as the Hungarian Diet, which represents the Hungarian People. This Diet elects their monarch and has done so since the "exalted ancestors" of the Porte were living in huts in some godforsaken desert.

It is with great pride that I must inform the Porte that the freely elected King of Hungary is Joseph II Hapsburg and that he was elected by the Diet in Pressburg, the Hungarian capital. The Porte would do well to remember that Buda was abandoned as capital after a brutal invasion by the hated enemy of the Hungarian People, an enemy the Porte is, as they have clearly forgotten, one and the same.

It may be a shock to the Porte to learn that nobles and subjects have some purpose other than killing each other or obeying their Sultan and might enjoy some degree of rights and power, but I feel now is as good a time as any for the Sultan to learn. And while the Porte is learning, they should also learn the lesson that "a man in a glass house does not throw stones." What role do the Egyptian people or their nobles play in choosing their king? What of the Greeks? If the Porte wishes to celebrate the freedom of people from a tyrannical yoke, they should look closer to home.

[Dereich]

In light of the situation in Poland and the current turbulence within the Empire, I will be considering proposals for reform to submit to the Diet for consideration once the current trouble has concluded. Interested Princes and Imperial Subjects are invited to submit proposals to maintain and strengthen the wellbeing of princes and subjects,plans to rationalize the Imperial government to achieve these goals, or grievances relating to the same.

[Dereich]

As representative of both the Hapsburg Empire and the Imperial League, I am willing to accept Venice as a mediating party.

[Dereich]

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Francis, Holy Roman Emperor

The Empire recommends the Chairman of the League of Neutrality to mediate any disputes immediately rising from this settlement and will release a statement on the importance and necessity of peace upon conclusion of treaty.

[Dereich]

The Madness of King George

It is up to me, long the deliverer of ignored truths, to express aloud the thought going through every Court in Europe. Over the last several years all Christendom watched with muted fascination as King George of England persecuted his Irish subjects and abandoned his People's hard-fought gains in India without cause or reason. Taken as sole incidents, perhaps caused by the stress of war, his conduct was explained away.

But now, peace has set in. Now, England has no more excuses to fall back on. The decision of King George to abandon his homeland and hundred of thousands of souls whom he ruled over for longer than he has ruled England without reason or justification must lead to one simple conclusion. We conclude that George II, King of England, has gone mad. Neither the Empire nor the Hapsburg realms wish for the resumption of war; it is out of respect for the English people and pity for their current situation that we must announce the obvious, not some desire to undo what has been done.

We call upon the King's able ministers and on George, the Prince of Wales, to intervene for the sake of the English people and the English Crown. Control your King! The harm he has already done to your realm is obvious; control him before his madness strikes again!

[Dereich]

I will remind the certain parties that the Hapsburg Monarchy remains committed to its treaty of mutual defense with the Kingdom of France. Should any country attack the French(and nobody would view such an attack as anything but brazen and blatant aggression) they would quickly find themselves at war with Austria and the Empire as well.

[Dereich]

stop, or we will be forced to see this as no less or more than an attack on Denmark itself. The legitimacy of Peter III will not be questioned!

Has anyone threatened the French? Truth be told, belligerence is the pretty part of Paris and the very vice of Vienna.

Ok

[Dereich]

Imperial Decrees of 1759

-In the interests of stability and the future of the Empire, the Electors are hereby summoned to elect a new King of the Romans. For their contributions in defense of the Empire and victory in the Battle of Hesse, the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt is elevated to Elector of Hesse. 

- I hereby call certain committees of the Princes together to consider reforms necessary to rationalize the Empire so as to prevent an event like the Tragedy of 1758 from occurring again. Until such changes are realized and due to the major disorder within the Empire, the Circles are temporarily suspended until such time as reform can be realized through the Diet.

-Due to the uncertainties of the current international situation, the following decree on tariffs will be enforced: no tariff between Imperial States shall be set above a maximum of 100% of the good's value. Any Imperial State trading with a Non-Imperial State shall set a minimum tariff of at least 2% of a good's value. As this interferes with matters normally wholly left within the purview of the Princes, this decree will be submitted for confirmation to the Diet.

Retirement Announcement

When the regency of the Hapsburg Realms was thrust on me by my wife's murder, Bohemia and Vienna were occupied, the Royal House was captured, and foreign armies looked set to devour Austria and the Empire. The nobility were rendered timid and the people lived in fear. No longer. Despite the vitriol of my enemies and the ferocity of their arms, Austria and my son are safe and whole. The Empire, with a new sense of purpose, will be stronger than ever.

I have said what needed to be said and accomplished what needed to be accomplished. Therefore, I will leave my son's kingdoms in his capable hands. I will go to Frankfurt to oversee the election of the next King of the Romans and to oversee the beginning of Imperial Reform. Then from that role, too, I will retire. The wars and struggles of this generation are done. To my son and the next generation I wish my fondest farewells and best wishes that they might achieve a better future than we did.

Francis, Holy Roman Emperor

[Dereich]

The Ottoman Empire, committing itself to the pledge of non-intervention in the Russian hostilities, was in the process of rectifying an earlier mistake by recalling the 15,000 of 50,000 Swiss mercenaries that were paid out of the Sultan's treasury.

HOWEVER, the French intervention proves once more that the agreement is and will remain an empty word, unless all parties resolve to observe the terms. The Sublime Porte was willing to fully normalize relations with France, letting bygones be bygones, but their recent actions forces us to consider undertaking a countermeasures in our mutual relations.

It takes great courage for the Porte to publicly admit that they and their allies violated the Treaty of Paris by hiring and sending mercenaries to Russia and that they violated it first. It is so refreshing to see honesty from the Porte on matters like this, which would usually be private. We hope that all civilized nations take this example to heart and act similarly open and vocal in the future!

[Dereich]

Ascension Decrees of Joseph II Hapsburg

Germans, Hungarians, Croats, and Bohemians, a new era has dawn on the Empire. Old certainties fade and new realities must be confronted. The Empire will not stand idly by in ignorance of the rising calls for justice and reason to replace oppression and superstition. In the spirit of this new age for Austria, We issue the following decrees:

-The sentences of political prisoners who did not commit acts of violence are hereby commuted. This includes those captured in the course of defending the Empire, in the spirit of German friendship and cooperation.

-Censorship of written works and of the press will be relaxed. Only writings which blaspheme, attempt to subvert the government, or are starkly immoral will remain censored.

-Lands which have come into the possession of the Crown, especially in Bohemia, will be offered in freehold for a nominal fee to the Victorious Heroes of Graz or their widows and orphans in thanks for their courage and service in defense of their homeland.

-The arbitrary means by which landlords treat serfs will no longer be tolerated. Peasants will hereby be permitted to appeal directly to royal courts rather than landlord courts. The ban on the beating of serfs will be fully enforced. The robot is restricted to two days a week and may be provided through monetary payments to a landlord rather than forced labor. The cost to purchase ones freedom is hereby permanently capped; any arbitrary increase in cost is an offense which may be appealed to the Royal Courts.

-Whether he claims the title "King of Poland" by divine right or by the vote of the Sejm it is obvious that Alexander, as with Stanisław before him, no longer governs Poland. Acting in continued defiance of that fact is senseless and acts only to drive the slighted Polish people to ever more radical action. Therefore, out of common sense and necessity and following the lead of several other eminent countries, We instruct our Ambassador to Poland to present his credentials to the National Assembly in recognition that they act as the legitimate government of Poland and to normalize relations with the Polish Republic. This decree does not modify or violate obligations under the Treaty of Prague.

[Dereich]

Hey, I recognized 'em first!

So you did. Corrected.