So normally i start with housekeeping, i also had a nagging feeling i forgot something important about spain. I organised my armies, built up 3 Galleons in Spain to send to the new World in conjunction with a bunch of guerrilas and line infantry to fight the cherokee (idc the Indians with guns that threathen to burn down florida).
Then i went into the politics tab..... Have you ever seen the spanish King at the start of the game, the last habsburg? it's a 0 star leader. And the ministers were terrible aswell.
So not online decided it would be a GOOOD idea to chop the head off that dude. Not something that would bite me in the backside at all. (if at this point you read the title of Act one you are probably screaming at me or laughing)

I did some opening moves, sold belgium to the netherlands in exchange to their american possesions. Prepared for the Revolution i was about to start to change the government to houst the spanish king, which i realised would also remove this from happening:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_the_Spanish_Succession

Said done. Raising the taxes for the poor in Spain, excempting the rest of europe from taxes in order to stop mass rebeelions (i only wanted to switch governments, not start the spanish italian civil war early) . what i didn't realize is A: Non established Republics get a massive debuff to foreign relations, and B: Absolutists hate your Guts more then Frenchmen hate englishmen.
1702. 4 Turns in, i just won the revolution, arrived in amreica with my anti Cherokke mission and built up the spanish colonies i allready controlled, in order to gather the last pieces to take over new spain.
I click end turn and the campaign dissolves in essence into the Kick the spanish Piniata for all my neighbours.
The pope want's italy, the French want me gone, the marrocans want to invade me via gibraltar, the british decide that landing a full stack in northern Spain is a great idea, the austrians want italy aswell, the Barbary states somehow call in the Ottoblob (as if that really is a challange, in ETW that's more like free real estate), Prussia wants the netherlands with which i secured a alliance, and the maratha started bullying the portugese, with which i somehow formed a alliance aswell as trade agreements.

1702: winter, europe.
Having had now access in 1702 spring to conscript units, like all republics in ETW, and having also madrid and Gibraltar i managed to have 5 Conscripts 2 line infantry, some provincial cavallery and a General, against a 20 stack of the british, including 10 lineinfantry, some pikemen for whatever reason, some cav for whatever reason and some cannons which are now pillaging in northern spain, whilest Gibraltar is defended by some militia and the 2 conscript regiments against 12 Desert warriors and a general from marroco.

1702: New World:
Pirates continue to bully me, well attempt to, promptly getting done in by 3 galleons and a pit stop of my last regular army which sized Trinidad and tobago and would be for the forseable future be Island hopping in order to punish the french.
The Cherokke try to siege out florida.
In Cuba and hispaniola Reserves get called up.

So i deceded to deal with the things i could as possible:
Having now two armies in Northern italy due to the trade of territory with the dutch, i promplty shoved the popes militia stack down the Tiber. Before peacing out with him, I am still a catholic nation afterall.
In Gibraltar, i threw back the desert spam, by literrally entrenching Conscripts in the mayoral building and a nearby farmhouse turning the streets into a deathtrap which the terrible desert warriors can't push through due to terrible morale. In the end though the conscripts run out of ammo and i had to commint to a Charge, which probably was the most epic thing i ever saw in ETW to this day, 4 remaining fresh desert warriors vs 2x 100 Conscripts with fixed bajoneets and some armed populance in the street. sadly one of the 2 banner carriers i had got shot in the face. Still they somehow managed to get stuck in and routed the desert warriors.

This freed up the 2 regiments and solved my issues with marroco, atleast for 3 turns.
Meanwhile the British army was still stuck due to not entering via port so i had about 1 turn to pad out my armies, due to constricted finances i would need to rely upon irregular units and conscript spams. If you now imagine something the like of CoH conscript spam, then yes you would be correct.
(appropriate music here



I decided on a gamble in the north, i knew the french would require 4-5 turns until they would show up in Spain.
In order to throttle supply of the British i would need to destroy their mainfleet, and thankfully as spain you start with 2 fleets in the region, one of the admirals even beeing on a galleon and good. (HIP HIP HURRAY FOR BETTER MORALE, infact i was certain at the end that one of my galleons would sink, beeing shot to gak to the point it only had 13 cannons remaining)
This lead to a pitched naval engagement, which my fleet got outnumbered by 2 :1 however i still had equivalency in guns due to my biggest ships beeing Galleons with 58 compared to his admiral 5th.
I also got immensly lucky managing to detonate the admirals 5th by pulling a trafalgar on the british.
Engagement: me lost 2 ships, two brigs: british lost 8, including their Admiral.

I used the general and 2 lineinfantrey and the conscripts to hold a village in the north which the british would need to bypass to seize madrid.
The british took the baid and assaulted the 5 entrenched units which got now reinforced by 2 beaten conscript regiments. Like the battle against the marocans i used the AI's issues in navigating villages with houses, entreched positions and the fact that my men allready knew how to put knives on the end of a musket to my full advantage.
Engagement: Phyric victory.
next turn mop up duty.

In the new world, i continued to mass colonial infantry of all varainces, aiming to seize French guyana and louisiana for that sweet manpower which would allow me to continue westward to gain Texas and by consequence New Spain direct under my controll.
Some effortless island hoping freed also up my galleons and the 8 units i intendet for a Cherokke campaign, allowing me to finally break the Cherokke and push through to louisiana.
Further recruits at home solved the issue.

Somewhere in 1715-18 i was finally really capable of a counter offensive, mostly done in the new world ,where small scale armies of me where capable of crippling the colonial trade of the french and british, in combination with my 3 galleons which would for the forseeable future be the biggest ships in the New world. Also through the take over of new spain i now had access to sizeable assests of manpower .
1718: capture of marocco, peace with the ottomans and barbary sates.
1720 the dutch finally fell under the onslought of the french and prussian armies. Peace with Prussia
1724: The last of the thirteen colonies fell to my advancing army of Regulars and Guerrilas, leaving only the New france and canada for the British.
1725: Finally the British gave up. After getting their last landing beaten back by a combined spanish portugese effort, also the british fleet is now smaller then the spanish armada giving me more or less carte blanche to pursue the french in the caribean throttling my trade.
1728; Great southern french war. At this stage i had 2.5 Stacks of Conscripts, cannons and guerrilas and some really impressive generals.
1730: Voting victory at the ballot for the opposition lead to the average skill of my ministers beeing 5 stars. Especially the treasury minister was a genious, as was the Governor of the New world.
1734; after defeating another french army, having succesfully raided every village inbetween bourdeaux and marseille, the french finally agreed to surrender, handing me over new France in the peace treaty.

Losses: 7 Concsript regiments. 2 Generals. Territorial gain:
Limited to the new world, but now in position of the sole Hegemon in the new world aswell as making massive bank due to having in essence a monopoly on the production of tabacco, coffee and sugar.
10'000 Gold pieces was an average turn. Also due to my low tax policy most harbours and villages had developped, making it possible for me to convert massive swaths of former indian territory into catholic ones, industrialising enourmusly, and having the capability of recruiting my most elite unit options in the new world and in the old world.