Audencia de Caracas

An introduction

Creating a campaign module for an area which lacks detailed documentation in the English language can be rather daunting. What references I could find are taken from the book “Liberators” and from some online resources. The goal here was not to produce another military campaign but bring the players into an “empire” building period; each carving a niche in the new world competing with rival families to establish their plantations, ranches or shipping enterprises. Non-player activity would represent the Native Indian response, slave rebellions, piratical activity or the occasional visit by other powers; British, French, Dutch, Portuguese, etc.

As a matter of consistency I would want this game to start at the beginning of the 18th century, so all participants can have a reasonable amount of time to expand and consolidate their power base before the outbreak of the Seven Years War. As a few years later, Charles the III would make the fatal decision to side with France with repercussions to Spain’s overseas possessions.

Role of the military

From my readings, the military presence was not large but formal units were distributed among the key cities and augmented with militia. Military formations that were sent to the colonies were often rotated. This meant units arriving from Spain would serve to train the local militia for six months before rotating back to Spain.

See my last posting for a fictitious deployment along the Orinoco River. Aside from the small number of guns for field use, the armies were also ably assisted by the irregular formations from the ranches and plantations.

Aside from an occasional uprising or piratical raid, there were very little military expeditions. That would come after the Napoleonic wars and well after our time frame.

A Holy Order

Historically, the Jesuit presence in South America and Mexico disrupted the political and economic direction of the Viceroys in the new world. That changed with the expulsion of the order in the later 18th century. For our game purpose, the Jesuits are replaced by a Religious Order whose dedication to the righteous path rivals that of Inquisition.

The spiritual leader is an extra Russian General officer, bald but covered with a cape. This was ideal to represent his holiness in a cardinal’s vestment with cappello (hat) and farraiolo (cape).

The Brotherhood are all Essex with a touch of Old Glory. The cream coloured robes have no historical basis other than looking nicer on green turf, plus the weapons stand out nicer. The banner was a suggestion from David of Not By Appointment, whose blog you will find in the listing.

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam

“For the greater Glory of God”

As the Bohemian Campaign approaches its third phase, I would like to bring the reader’s attention from Western Europe to developments in Nuevo España. Two things inspired me to elevate an idea to a work in progress project. One, the movie the “Mission “with Robert De Niro and Jeremy Irons and two, the book, the Liberators by Robert Harvey, Latin America’s struggle for independence. I enjoyed the movie and its war game applications; tropical forests, waterways, native Indians, Spanish garrisons, mercenaries and of course the Church that played their role in the development of Nuevo España.

The film is set in the 18th century setting, which fits well into the “Sojourn”. However, the Jesuits pursued another direction than what I needed for my scenario (“nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition”).

Add to the religious order, line troops (garrisons) some militia to bolster numbers and auxiliaries, the latter serving as scouts for the Spanish and we should be ready for a fight. The opposition, simply a lot of natives.

Returning to the book, the Liberators and the struggles for independence, I found Venezuela to offer the best possibilities for an interesting campaign; geography, demographics, and history. In the east, plains, waterways and swamps while moving further west we encounter tropical forests and still further west, mountainous regions. Demographically, the Spanish a minority were outnumbered by not only the native Indian population, but Africans as well. Historically, the campaigns for Independence took place in the early 19th century. Not a problem as we shall bring forward into our 18th century, a lot of events which took place nearly 70 years later.