Empire: Total War

Star Fort

The basic concept of a star fort is that at least one, and preferably many, field of fire should cover every part of the defence and the approaches to the fort. These killing zones can be extended and made even more deadly by, at the very least, a long sloping glacis around the fort for the attackers to scale. The glacis need not be very steep at all, but the attackers face an uphill struggle with no cover at all, under murderous fire ever step of the way. The glacis also acts as a passive defence, a sloping armoured earthwork for the fort proper. Beyond the glacis a hidden counterscarp awaits: a retaining wall (sometimes with firing positions for the defenders) that drops down deep ditch that must be crossed before the actual approaches to the fort are even reached!

All of these defences are before the military architects add additional ravelins (detached triangular bastions or gun positions) in front of the fort’s own walls and hornworks and crownworks (both elaborations on the basic bastion design). The whole effect, when viewed in plan form, is baroque in its complexity, each projection of the central star giving the defence another firing position towards any attacking force. Wall length is limited to that which can be covered by flanking musket fire, as experience showed that a fort with only cannons in its defence could be taken when the cannons were knocked out.

European-style tenanted farms

Tenanted farms can only generate so much income from rents. With an increase in town size, and an increased demand from industry for agricultural products, it is more profitable to have herds of animals, not a gaggle of tenants. Meat and wool demand increases rapidly as towns grow. Apart from any other considerations, moving people off land also creates large areas where landowners can indulge a passion for hunting. While this generates little income, it does give social status.

The “Highland Clearances” are probably the most famous example of a forced change to land usage on a large scale. Contrary to popular belief, Highland clan leaders carried out most of the Scottish clearances, driving their own kinsmen and clans into exile. The chieftains needed to pay for the sophisticated life that they could have in Edinburgh and London by reinventing themselves as Scottish gentry. Sheep simply earned more money than the crofters did.

Trading Port

Shipping goods of any kind by land is difficult and expensive. Any item that has to travel more than a few miles goes by ship wherever possible.

Most roads are simply terrible, and bulk cargoes (such as coal) must go by ship anyway: it is the only way of moving goods cheaply and relatively quickly. It also makes the whole world a marketplace, even if the customers are not sure what to make of the goods they are being sent (British merchants insisted on exporting heavy woollen cloth to India for years, even though there was no obvious market for it).

Coastal trade can also be very profitable. For example, a “cheese fleet” did nothing but shuttle back and forth between London and the northwest of England, bringing Cheshire cheeses to the London market. By a happy accident of geology, Cheshire had rock salt mines that provided a preservative for the local cheese to make the sea journey to London. Although salty, this was undoubtedly healthier than most food on a gentleman’s table in the 18th Century!

University

Education is vital for those who wish to enter the professions, or make their way in government using talent alone. A good, well-trained brain is an excellent substitute for birth and social connections. A young gentleman’s studies can be wide ranging, and need not be tied to any particular faculty or subject area – an awarded degree or doctorate is proof enough of intellectual achievement.

Historically, in Europe at least, the established church controlled most universities, either through paying for them or by laws requiring the tutors to take holy orders. Sir Isaac Newton was very unusual in that he didn’t take orders when he was appointed Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge (a post currently held by Stephen Hawking), arguing that the post required the holder to spend time on science, not the Anglican Church. However, the requirement for teachers to accept Church doctrine did mean that universities had a socially conservative outlook. While scholarships were available, students had to have money to attend, reinforcing this conservatism. While wild, threatening ideas about the world and the way it worked did emerge from universities, the institutions were rarely radical or revolutionary breeding grounds.