Cosmical Rabbit and the Republic of Ecuador
My maternal grandmother is Ecuadorian. She’s surly and
tough, but she would talk shit with anyone who would be willing to hear it. I
dedicate this Feat or Fail to her, because she taught me many lessons, most of
all to be patient. Victoria II requires patience because the game moves
at it’s own pace, and I played this Feat
or Fail on the slowest speed. Why? Because I was busy editing my first sequel.
I’ve always been a long-distance admirer of Paradox
games. I can appreciate a lot of their work, even though I have not personally
played much of it. I’ve always been interested in the pressure of internal
politics and faction in-fighting. When my bro gave me Victoria II on Steam,
he told me that I needed to check it out because it was right up my alley. And
he was right!
Well, hello Brazil, please don't invade me! Also, Peru, we're cool, right?
This was not, strictly speaking, my first game of Vicky 2.
It’s definitely the first one I played intensely. My first game was with Ecuador, where I was promptly invaded and tooled
on my Peru.
Having felt what it was to be pwned by a neighbor, I played a second game as Brazil, just to
get a look at a larger power in the region. I actually put that game on the
fastest speed and just let it go to see how it would evolve.
In this game, I focused on maintaining friendly relations
with both Peru and Colombia. I
found this to be largely non-interactive, though, and that is a shame. With so
many systems at work in this game, especially the political parties, I figured
there would be a more robust system of double-dealing in there, as it is, I
basically just kept going to diplomacy and clicking a button to increase my
standing with both.
Building the railroads definitely helped, although I still don't know how the economy changed
That’s not to say that nothing of interest was happening
around Ecuador
circa 1836, it’s just that I didn’t know much about any of it. Brazil and Chile
declared war on Mexico and Colombia. Then Argentina declared war on Bolivia. Ecuador signed a military alliance with Venezuela
in July 1936.
An outbreak of cholera in the Galapagos in 1839 necessitated
a quarantine of the islands. The government imprisoned an Amazonian nationalist
in 1840. Ecuadorian research was focused on Field Fortifications and Muzzle
loaded rifles throughout 1881. By February 1983 we had Experimental Railroads. In May 1843 Quito was struck by cholera and quarantined. Government
officials give speeches for full citizenship and freedom of trade. Research
continued into militaristic affairs such as dragoons, practical steam engines
and breech loaded rifles. The government declares bankruptcy in March 1858.
They blame the cholera. Into 1863 we were researching basic chemistry, military
plans and early railroad.
Our industrial capacity never really got off the ground
Throughout the 1860’s Ecuador was focused on expanding
the railroads along the coastal regions without going bankrupt again. In 1876 a
winery began production, followed by cement and fabric factories in ’78.
Continuing to research industrial and military technologies along the way, the
country debates free trade as the Anarcho-Liberals come to power in 1890. The
Sixth Army is commissioned in Loja in 1891. Ecuador
and Venezuela
enter into an agreement to allow military access. We build a Naval Base in Guayaquil in January
1892. Those kinds of expenditures amount to an austerity government building in
1897.
In 1900 the national focus is on attracting capitalists, and
planting spies amongst the labor unions. This kind of garbage leads to the
first test of Ecuador’s
struggling military capacity. On May 3rd 1901 the Gran Colombian
Nationalist Rebellion began when rebels rose up in Zamora,
Quito, Loja, and Guayaquil. Rebels in Quito numbering nine thousand oust the three
thousand uniformed army soldiers from the capital on May 5th. The
battle of Loja two weeks later was a victory for the loyalists even without a
leader.
Brazil has sure made itself at home on our side of the continent...
On June 5th 1901 Ricardo Blanco defeats the
rebels in Guayaquil.
He marches his army to Zamora
and defeats the rebels there on June 21st. The entire Ecuadorian
army marches to the capital under Blanco’s leadership and retakes Quito at the end of
August. Thus ended the first rebellion and I was glad we had invested in the
military. The army expanded in 1903, adding another infantry and guard unit. Argentina goes
bankrupt in 1906. Then in July 13th, 1910 a second great cholera
outbreak rocks the Galapagos, once again forcing quarantine.
While researching integral rail system and military
logistics, the government starts taxing the rich. The Union Republicana party
comes to power. I finally get to enact a social change in 1911 and I have my
grandmother in my ear. “Education is very important” she likes to say. So we
get a Basic School System going. In 1913 the economy crashed (how do I read you???) and the
government basically went into full pay-for-nothing mode. Hero of the
rebellion, General Ricardo Blano dies on February 18th 1818. An
outbreak of cholera strikes Esmeraldas in November 1919.
I'm sure Paradox players can look at this and see what matters, but Lord I can't yet!
In the first two weeks of 1922 a small rebellion of
Anarcho-Liberals is put down in Quito.
In September 1927 the government condones a blackshirt crackdown. Throughout
1928 scientists were consumed by social sciences and the combustion engine. But
the peace was not to last, for on April 8th 1928 a much larger
rebellion of Anarcho-Liberals erupted across the country. Every province save
the Galapagos Islands was suddenly occupied by
bloodthirsty rebels.
General Moreno defeats the rebels in Quito on April the 13th. Ezequiel
Boyd finds victory against three thousand rebel soldiers without any loyalist
forces. That guy is a beast. Seriously, 3k vs 0k and he came out the winner.
Instant joint chief. Moreno marches to Zamora and kicks the
rebels out on April 19th. General Carreno wins in Esmeraldas and
General Robles crush the rebels in Guayaquil
in late April. Boyd marches to Yuncos and Robles to Puca Urco. They both take
back the provinces by the end of May.
This was my first time having a legit uprisings in Victoria II, and it was a fun fight everytime
The post war period yielded an economic boom by November
1928. In the hot August summer of 1929, Fascist anti-minority propaganda was
spreading in the country, elected leaders denouncing it (like you do!). Next store in Peru, I see Fascist rebels. We
don’t want none of that mess. The rabble get all stired up by the speeches of
one Red John in December 1930. General Robles dies on March 5th 1931
just as the Flu Pandemic fight is in full swing. We upgrade to Good School
Systems in 1932.
Despite the government’s hands-off approach to beer halls
and the like, there is a drunken riot in the early morning hours of January 6th
1933. As if taking that as a challenge, the Anarcho-Liberals rebel in September
1933. They form armies in Zamora,
Tena and Yurimagus. The Battle of Zamora was won by General Boyd on September
the 30th. The battles of Tena and Yurimagus culminated in victories
for the loyalists in October.
Although my army was relatively diverse, I never could tell what any of those units *did* though...
General Boyd’s victory in Guayaquil did not deter the rebel spirit. The
battle of Zamora
on April 20th 1934 resulted in a scattered government army when
General Marino was defeated. Boyd lost in Loja on May 4th. Then lost again two
weeks later. Finally, General Andueza took command and led the Ecuadorian
forces to victory over the last rebel army in Loja. 1935 was a year spent on
recovery, researching inorganic chemistry and army infiltration.
In 1958 a war with Bolivia
and Uruguay on one side and Peru and Argentina on the other was raging
beyond our borders. But darned if I could see anything that was going on, like,
there’s even a crisis over it and I have no way to interact. I don’t mean to be
a Civhead, and I know everyone royally hates the Spies (I miss my Probe
Teams[link]), but at least a unit like that to open up the fog and see the world
around me would be nice. To be fair, Ecuador’s not exactly a “Major
Power” and for a game this complex, I understand only a thimbleful. If there’s
a way to get eyes into the world, let me know about it.
Laugh if you have to, I enjoyed myself and learned a ton in my 100 year game without a foreign war
When the game ended it occurred to me that I had never had a
foreign war. I consider that a Feat in and of itself, but also finishing a
Paradox game to the time limit on the slowest speed setting. I do think that
the next time I sit down with Victoria II I’ll play the cultural track first,
see how that changes things. Overall I had fun, I just still haven’t fully come
to understand the game itself, so I can’t say how bad I did.
Verdict: FEAT
Seriously, how do I affect these numbers?
