InfiniteAmount

Savage.

The diplomats of Britain have already agreed that the entirety of Mexico, and the western and northern coasts of the Yucatan will revert back to US possessions. While Britain is currently caught up in multiple wars, versus Denmark-Norway, France and Spain, as well as the perpetual pirate menace, and thus it would be an opportune moment to take British ports, the question must be asked: to what end? To occupy those ports that the British have already agreed to let us have? To overextend ourselves deeper into British territory, putting ourselves into literally the same position that we would be exploiting? Even just reclaiming the Yucatan without defenders is a costly task in time and resources. Defending it, or trying to take it by force more than doubly so, considering that its current owners have already pledged it to us. Meanwhile on our other front, our eternal enemies in black, who control the Bahamas, are also distracted, even more than the British it seems, fighting the with the same faction we've negotiated a territory agreement with regarding the Gulf and Yucatan. As a counterpoint to your claim that attacking the British now makes complete strategic sense, I must state that it makes no strategic sense whatsoever to waste time reoccupying ports that are ours by right, while the major force on our eastern flank is distracted and weakened in the area. While it is tactically sound, attacking an enemy from the rear while their front is distracted, strategically, it makes no sense to overextend ourselves while the Black Bahamas point directly at the heart of America like a dagger.

The American campaign against piracy is the single oldest conflict in the game. The only war I know of that is as long as that one would have been the British war against the United States, when the British declared war on the United States the very first day of EA launch (which had roots in a pre-EA Launch war where the British were also the aggressors), but there was a peace agreement about a week or two ago. Either way, an act of war and a negotiated hand over of ports are rarely the same thing. It seems the only people speaking of war between Great Britain and American are people who are neither British nor American.

I don't think that the British will necessarily want Spain to fight the United States or the Pirates. I think Britain just wants to close that Cuban front so they can focus their efforts on the other two fronts (Jamaica and Panama). The two ways they think they can do it is either by (1) negotiating a peace with Spain or (2) re-establish the British-Spanish Alliance so that the British at least have some allies against the Danish-French Entente. The second option is laughable, I don't think anyone with any understanding of British-Spanish relations is seriously considering that kind of diplomatic miracle. That leaves only the first option; negotiate a peace. Which is very unlikely at this point, and a realpolitik analysis of the Spanish situation should show why. Spain has no more major resource ports. In theory this should be enough to cripple the Spanish war industry, but it hasn't. Yes, the Spanish economy is mostly incapable of producing Ships of the Line. But Spain is relying on capturing the endless supply of NPC 3rd rates that ply the coast of Cuba and the waters around the Florida Keys. No matter how many ports the British take, they will not be able to stop the Spanish from replenishing their forces of 3rd Rates, unless they establish a squadron that's sole duty is to protect the AI fleets around Havana (impractical but not impossible), and even that doesn't solve the issue as the Spaniards could shift to Sunbury, Cayo Del Anclote or Barataria deep in US territory and farm US 3rd Rates there to send to Havana. Provided both Britain and the United States are not at war with Spain at the same time, the Spanish faction will always be able to replenish their number of fighting ships. True, there will be very little room for economy players, but there will always be PvP opportunities. Probably more than any other faction. This has not and will not drive diehard PvPers away, and no one will ever be actually able to kill the faction or remove the Spanish threat by force. There is nothing any more for the Spanish to lose but four more economically unimportant ports, ergo there is no real reason for the Spanish to end the war except from an economy perspective, which to repair the Spanish economy would require the return of around ten ports. Spain has nothing to lose anymore, which also means they have nothing to barter with. Except for one thing that Britain wants: a peace treaty. This is why Spain is demanding so much for what the British think is so little. Britain looks at the map and sees Spain as a defeated nation with no serious ability to defeat Britain and wonders why Spain won't give in and accept the one thing that, in the Britons' mind, can save Spain. But Spain looks at that same map as sees that the only thing that they can trade is also the one thing that Britain desperately wants, so they want as much as they can, because even if the Spanish are reduced to a single port on the north coast of Cuba, the British will always have to keep fighting them there, and the British will always have to keep a fleet fighting the Spanish. You may have noticed that I said that as long as both Britain and the United States are not at war with Spain at the same time, the Spanish war machine will continue to exist. This is because the only other option the British have is getting the United States to fight Spain for them. They are the only other faction that is (1) not already fighting the British and (2) in the position to actually fight Spain. The United States is already fighting the pirate menace in the Bahamas, technically on the same side as the British. It would be natural, in the eyes of a Briton, for the United States to fight the Spanish as well considering the hostile history the two factions already have. The American fleet attacking Cuba would keep the Spanish busy, and would take pressure off of the west Cuba front, allowing the British to redeploy forces where they are needed more greatly. This is why you've seen the softening of the British stances towards the United States; because Great Britain is trying to recruit a new ally, not only against the pirates, but against Spain as well. But are such efforts are hopeless? It is not my place to say.

The meeting in which nothing was decided and nothing was agreed upon yes? If that's the meeting you speak of, then there has obviously been no violation of the non-agreement.

The Dutch hold Gibraltar right now. Check your in game map, right south of Maracaibo.

Traders Lynxs or bust.

Like you should talk, Mr "anyone who fights the British is dumb". Where was the might of the Royal Navy when the Danes invaded Jamaica? Where was Albion's might when the Antilles fell? Where was Britain when Spain lost thirty ports in a week? What wars has Britain even won? Against the remnants of the Spanish Armada? Against undefended French Haiti? There's a trail of failed diplomacy and lost ports leading straight to Port Royal/Kingston. Perhaps if there was the slightest bit of trustworthiness among the British, then the US could consider rapprochement, but as long as Britain keeps breaking treaties and betraying allies, there is no reason why anyone should be friendly with Britain.

So arrogant... maybe the US still considers you hostile, hmm?

What port was this? New Edinburgh?

You can try and twist my words however you like. But I was referring to the treaty in which Spain refused the return of their ports in the Yucatan because of... well, who knows, really? (see: http://forum.game-labs.net/index.php?/topic/10733-news-from-the-north/?p=193399).Spain couldn't hold on to the Yucatan, the US didn't hold on to it, and the only reason why Britain is holding on to it is because it's uncontested. There are too many avenues of attack, only a handful of freeports to organize a defense and the locations of the freeports are disadvantageous for such defense. Spain could've held the Yucatan if it dealt with the United States a month ago when Johnny Reb (Thomas Pain) made the huge diplomatic push to end the war (forum.game-labs.net/index.php?/topic/10733-news-from-the-north). A major point of that negotiation was the return of the handful of ports held by the US on the Yucatan at the time, but the Dons declined that diplomatic advance and consequently lost the Yucatan, and probably would've lost the entire Gulf to the US at the time if it weren't for the pirate push against the American Bahamas. The United States fought Spain because Spain declared war on the United States, but suddenly we're the imperialistic conquerors because we managed to turn that war against Spain? Both the Spanish-American War and the Spanish-Anglo War are because Spain declared war on a larger, more powerful nation.

I have never intentionally written untrue information my newspaper! I just don't let little details like facts get in the way of truth.

Fine, us Americans are more concerned about Pirates than the Spanish, which is why we unilaterally stopped the offensive in the Yucatan two (three?) weeks ago without a peace treaty. The southern Gulf is militarily indefensible without controlling Cuba and Florida. The only way to hold it is by diplomatic agreement, something we could never achieve with Spain.

Uhh, that same huge pirate fleet that was attacking the American possessions in the Bahamas at the same time the Danes wiped out the French and Swedes? I guess the mighty, mighty Spaniards must've been keeping you busy in South Cuba.Edit: I guess the Spanish weren't actually at war with the British at the time. But that begs the question; what was Britain doing on Black Friday? Where was Albion when the Antilles fell?

No one would ignore the maniac in their home to focus on a sane adversary across the street. The maniac must prove they are not a threat or be appropriately restrained before anything else. No one wants to fight Spain. It's boring and the Spanish just don't put in the effort. It is like fucking a girl who just lies there. But as long as the Spanish are out in the Gulf, they are too dangerous to ignore as what they say and what they do rarely align. What the faction says they want changes daily, there's a new "official" Spanish diplomat every other day, disavowing all previous negotiations that their predecessors worked on. One day they want to ally with the US versus the British, the next day it's the other way around. It is like making deals with a crazy person.