The History of AOE3: Episode 1

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United States of America CurassierAndCurassier
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The History of AOE3: Episode 1

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Post by CurassierAndCurassier »

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Something a little different: Age of Empires 3 is rich in historical detail.
There's a story behind every unit, every leader, every action.
My hope is to shine a new light on this game we all love with something fresh and unexpected.

This series is also available on the subreddit: r/aoe3

The name O'Higgins may be the last one most people would associate with Chile and the Spanish speaking world. But Bernardo O'Higgins is one of the most important founding fathers of Chile, and his story is a remarkable tale of overcoming adversity, yet ultimately being consigned to obscurity.

In Age of Empires 3 O'higgins is playable via the Revolt mechanic if you start as Spain or the Ottoman empires. As both of these nations are popular with non-standard trolls who like to Fast Revolt (uh, me) O'Higgins is probably the most often used Revolt leader. His bonus upon Revolt is ten Imperial Hussars, one of the best bonuses of all the Revolt leaders and the key to the strategy. But what's his story? What's the man behind the game?

Bastard Orphan

O'Higgins was the illegitimate child of Ambrosio O'Higgins, an Irish ex-pat who joined the Spanish military and rose through the ranks to become a wealthy, powerful man in South America, being the Captain-General (essentially, the second-in-command) of Spanish Chile. His very birth was a scandal, O'Higgins was promptly sent away, first to Lima, and then to Europe. With the child out of sight and out of mind, Ambrosio O'Higgins continued to follow his political ambition. It is the ultimate irony that in sending his unwanted son across the sea, he began a chain of events that would see his son becoming the man who deposes the Spanish Empire.

In Europe, O'Higgins became associated with a masonic lodge (not kidding) that included a colorful cast of future Latin American icons, whose mission was to bring Enlightenment, American-style ideals to South America along with independence from the Empire. It was here that O'Higgins learned of his father's identity. Perhaps it was the sting of being an unwanted son, or perhaps he easily took to the radical ideas of democracy and abolition that the freemason lodge was advocating, but O'Higgins would not grow up to be the Spanish nobleman his father was.

Far, far from it.

He was going to tear down everything his father worked for.

[spoiler=read more]Decorated War Vet

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Ambrosio O'Higgins may have had a late-in-life change of heart on his bastard son. After suffering a stroke in 1801, the elder O'Higgins changed his will to entrust his large estate to his estranged son upon his death. Ambrosio, now in his eighties, would die just months after this decision. Suddenly, Bernardo O'Higgins had gone from a penniless bastard in exile to a wealthy, powerful man.

O'Higgins initially settled in Chile as a farmer, but history would have much grander plans for him. After eight years of the agrarian life, war rocked the Andes. Patriots rose up against the Spanish Empire, following in the footsteps of Bolivar and San Martin before. (Bolivar and San Martin are also playable in AOE3.) O'Higgins took up the sword and lay down the plowshare and joined the rebellion.

Now, the Chilean war of Independence is long, messy, and not my forte. So for this post I'll just focus on two battles: El Roble and Ranagua.

O'Higgins did not immediately become the leader of the Chilean army, that man was Jose Miguel Carrera, who had seized the opportunity to set himself up as the de facto dictator of Chile. This did not sit well with O'Higgins, a man who had spent his childhood reading the works of Thomas Paine and American thinkers. Carrera and O'Higgins were allies only in the sense that they both fought against Spain. They were enemies in every other regard.

O'Higgins secured a minor position as a cavalry leader and when Spain decided to invade Chile, he and Carrera stopped bickering to put up a united defensive front.

At the battle of El Roble, General Carrera opted for a passive battle plan, hoping to outlast the larger Spanish army. O'Higgins, impetuous, impatient, and decisive, had other ideas. Picking up a gun from a fallen soldier, O'Higgins went rogue and ordered his cavalry to charge headlong, shouting:

"Lads! To me! Live with honor, or die with glory! The one who is brave is the one who follows me!"
This is the basis for the 10 Hussar upgrade that makes O'Higgins so well-liked by Revolters, and I daresay it's a perfectly fitting nod.

Carrera however, was not pleased. The Chileans won the day, but Carrera resented O'Higgins stealing his spotlight. Still, they had a more important common enemy to fight.

When Carrera's army was besieged by a Spanish army at the town of Ranagua, O'Higgins came to his defense. It would be the moment where his legacy was born.

The Battle of Ranagua was a disaster for Chile. Surrounded on all sides by a larger army of elite soldiers, battle-hardened from fighting Napoleon, the rag-tag Chilean defenders fought fiercely, but it was a lost cause. The Spanish were closing in. The battle was turning into a last stand. O'Higgins had one hope.

The Imperial Hussars.

Escape, Exile, and Return

With no hope of winning the battle, O'Higgins commanded his cavalry to bunch up and charge full speed at the encircling Spaniards.

I have no idea how it worked.

Like, I'm no military historian, but there really is no apparent reason that a cavalry charge straight into bayonets should pay off. I mean, that's AOE3 101 right there. But the breakthrough worked, and O'Higgins lived to fight another day, while the rest of the Chilean army was captured. This defeat ended the first phase of the fight for independence and Chile sank back into Spanish control for a decade.

O'Higgins fled to Argentina, once again living in exile. But he would not remain there for long. Once the next phase in the war for independence began, O'Higgins came charging in from the west. With the Argentinian army in tow.

TL;DR: This time O'Higgins and Chile is victorious. With Spain repulsed for good, O'Higgins becomes Supreme Director of Chile, an oddly dictatorial position for a main supposedly guided by Enlightenment ideas of Republicanism and equality, but hey, that's history for you.

The Backseat of History

To his credit, O'Higgins doesn't let the position of Supreme Director go to his head. He uses his authority to institute liberal, democratic reforms. He also launches a naval invasion of Peru, his father's old viceroyalty, liberating much of it from Spain's control.

But alas, this is a story of a Latin American revolutionary, and these are not the kinds of stories that have happy endings. His liberal reforms pissed off the nobility, the church, Carrera's old allies... basically everyone. Earthquakes and debts racked the nation, and the Conservative factions of Chile ousted O'Higgins in a 1823 coup, replacing him with a new dictator, a man who had once been O'Higgins's most trusted ally. He would be sent into exile for a third time, and this time he would never return to the nation he had helped create.

O'Higgins would try to land a position on the expedition that liberated the rest of Peru, but was forced to take a backseat when Simon Bolivar stationed him in Colombia instead. In his later years, O'Higgins continued to push for a more integrated South America, as he had when he led Chile. Like Bolivar, he had visions of a new world power, comprised of many or all of the former Spanish colonies which had declared independence. He would not live to see the day. He did live long enough to see the disintegration of both Gran Colombia and Peru-Bolivia, however.

In 1842, Chile finally elected to allow their former leader back into the nation. O'Higgins began, but did not finish, the journey home. His health had been deteriorating for awhile, and his attempt to return to Chile only made things worse. He turned back and died in Lima, Peru, a few months later.

O'Higgins is still a celebrated figure in Chile, Peru, Argentina, and Ireland, but his mythos is nowhere near that of Bolivar's. His legend is nonexistent north of the Andes. So it's remarkable that the guys behind AOE3 took the time to give him not even a namecheck, but a perfectly fitting mechanic. Hell, George Freakin' Washington didn't even get an upgrade that made historical sense, but Higgins did.

So go ahead and load up a game of AOE3, brush up on your Fast Industrial strats, and pick Spain or Otto. (Preferably Spain.) Give your opponent a surprise, fight for liberty, and remember:

Live with honor or die with glory.[/spoiler]
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Greece BrookG
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Re: The History of AOE3: Episode 1

Post by BrookG »

@hleung what sorcery is this? What does he mean by Episode 1?
Correlation doesn't mean causation.
http://www.tylervigen.com/spurious-correlations

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Re: The History of AOE3: Episode 1

Post by Googol »

Why's there Germany with Prussian flag? What the hell is kebab doing in the new world?
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Re: The History of AOE3: Episode 1

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Post by hleung »

BrookG wrote:@hleung what sorcery is this? What does he mean by Episode 1?

Unfortunately, while I am busy with other stuff, I have no idea what kind of heresy is taking place! I guess another member of staff managed to steal my idea somehow, taking advantage of my "personal development time"... :hmm:

@CurassierAndCurassier we might be able to cooperate at some point to write historical articles related to the game content (or we can always become "friendly competitors" to create staff drama) :hmm:
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Re: The History of AOE3: Episode 1

Post by Googol »

I appreciate your work it's very well written @CurassierAndCurassier and the amount of time you put into it I also very appreciate, however I'd say aoe is not that rich in historical detail, at some certain points it's being historically inaccurate.

But everything else mentioned aboved I really liked, keep up the good work
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Re: The History of AOE3: Episode 1

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Post by CurassierAndCurassier »

Googol wrote:Why's there Germany with Prussian flag? What the hell is kebab doing in the new world?


Episode 3 is tentatively titled "Why the hell is Germany in this game?"
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Re: The History of AOE3: Episode 1

Post by CurassierAndCurassier »

hleung wrote:
BrookG wrote:@hleung what sorcery is this? What does he mean by Episode 1?

Unfortunately, while I am busy with other stuff, I have no idea what kind of heresy is taking place! I guess another member of staff managed to steal my idea somehow, taking advantage of my "personal development time"... :hmm:

@CurassierAndCurassier we might be able to cooperate at some point to write historical articles related to the game content (or we can always become "friendly competitors" to create staff drama) :hmm:


I had no idea you had a similar idea. I believe our only path at this point is to become sworn enemies.

But before we do, please check out Episode 2 on the subreddit :D
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Re: The History of AOE3: Episode 1

Post by BrookG »

hleung wrote:
BrookG wrote:@hleung what sorcery is this? What does he mean by Episode 1?

Unfortunately, while I am busy with other stuff, I have no idea what kind of heresy is taking place! I guess another member of staff managed to steal my idea somehow, taking advantage of my "personal development time"... :hmm:

@CurassierAndCurassier we might be able to cooperate at some point to write historical articles related to the game content (or we can always become "friendly competitors" to create staff drama) :hmm:

Your idea????? I claim my rights here!!! I started it and you joined me :hmm:
Correlation doesn't mean causation.
http://www.tylervigen.com/spurious-correlations

"mr.brookg go buy jeans and goto the club with somppuli" - Princeofkabul, July 2018
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Re: The History of AOE3: Episode 1

Post by Googol »

CurassierAndCurassier wrote:
Googol wrote:Why's there Germany with Prussian flag? What the hell is kebab doing in the new world?


Episode 3 is tentatively titled "Why the hell is Germany in this game?"


I like you already!
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Re: The History of AOE3: Episode 1

Post by P i k i l i c »

CurassierAndCurassier wrote:
Googol wrote:Why's there Germany with Prussian flag? What the hell is kebab doing in the new world?


Episode 3 is tentatively titled "Why the hell is Germany in this game?"

Haha I wrote an article on German and Ottoman presence in AoE3 some time ago on a French forum. I would especially enjoy reading this "Episode 3" ^_^
Consider not the one who speaks the truth, but the truth that is said

:hmm: AoE logic :hmm:
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Re: The History of AOE3: Episode 1

Post by hleung »

CurassierAndCurassier wrote:I had no idea you had a similar idea. I believe our only path at this point is to become sworn enemies.

But before we do, please check out Episode 2 on the subreddit :D

Sure, I will; but before that, please kindly reveal your location so that we can go on a "hunting expedition" (eu4 reference) :P

No, enemies spy on each other more implicitly than friends do! You wouldn't even know when I will downvote you there. The new era of staff drama begins! :hmm:
BrookG wrote:Your idea????? I claim my rights here!!! I started it and you joined me :hmm:

Oh, when did that ever happen? No, not so sure if I could remember anything about it, not anymore :hmm:
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Re: The History of AOE3: Episode 1

Post by Googol »

hleung wrote:
CurassierAndCurassier wrote:I had no idea you had a similar idea. I believe our only path at this point is to become sworn enemies.

But before we do, please check out Episode 2 on the subreddit :D

Sure, I will; but before that, please kindly reveal your location so that we can go on a "hunting expedition" (eu4 reference) :P

No, enemies spy on each other more implicitly than friends do! You wouldn't even know when I will downvote you there. The new era of staff drama begins! :hmm:
BrookG wrote:Your idea????? I claim my rights here!!! I started it and you joined me :hmm:

Oh, when did that ever happen? No, not so sure if I could remember anything about it, not anymore :hmm:


His hunting experience is a trap!
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Re: The History of AOE3: Episode 1

Post by CurassierAndCurassier »

hleung wrote:
CurassierAndCurassier wrote:I had no idea you had a similar idea. I believe our only path at this point is to become sworn enemies.

But before we do, please check out Episode 2 on the subreddit :D

Sure, I will; but before that, please kindly reveal your location so that we can go on a "hunting expedition" (eu4 reference) :P


1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

I suppose that hunting expedition is like when you give a friend a surprise present by putting an asp in their bed in CK2.
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Re: The History of AOE3: Episode 1

Post by supahons »

aoe3 + history = disaster
aoe1+aoe2 tried to incorporate historical events in the campaign, aoe3 failed there totally with a fictitious story. Maybe that's one of the big reasons why the third part of the series is less popular.
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Re: The History of AOE3: Episode 1

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Post by CurassierAndCurassier »

supahons wrote:aoe3 + history = disaster
aoe1+aoe2 tried to incorporate historical events in the campaign, aoe3 failed there totally with a fictitious story. Maybe that's one of the big reasons why the third part of the series is less popular.


The campaigns are actually underrated in their accuracy. And if this guy doesn't deliver, I'd be happy to make the campaigns the subject of a future episode.

https://www.reddit.com/r/aoe3/comments/ ... bout_aoe3/
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Re: The History of AOE3: Episode 1

Post by rsy »

When is the next episode coming out sir
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