From 1777 onward, France, Spain and the Dutch Republic aided the colonists, seeking to put an end to British hegemony. This turning point proved that the Colonials were a force that even the greatest empire on the Earth needed to give due respect. Thomas Paine would gravely write of the conflict later in the year, "These are the times that try men's souls." General George Washington, though swept out of New York and New Jersey by the British Army in the following months, would, by Christmas, make a surprise Crossing of the Delaware and gain victory at the Battle of Trenton.
Though the conflict began de facto in 1775 at Lexington and Concord, on July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress ratified the Declaration of Independence, formally declaring, "That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown." Yet victory in the war was far from certain. This boiled over into the American Revolution. Great Britain had won French and Spanish colonial possessions in North America and India during the Seven Years' War, but what price victory? The taxes levied to pay off the war debts rankled the colonies of North America. In India, the war would draw in the Mughal empire, and would be known as the Third Carnatic War. In North America, it was known as the French and Indian War. In the campaigns between Prussia and Sweden, it would be known as the Pomeranian War.
Though there had been battles and skirmishes in colonial and overseas holdings before, the Seven Years' War can rightly be thought of as the first 'world war,' with conflict occurring in Europe, North and South America, Africa, Asia and in the Pacific.
After the disastrous naval loss for the relieving British squadron, war would engulf five continents. The war opens on the isle of Minorca in the Balleares, where a small British force was under siege. And with the decline of the Holy Roman Empire, Prussia emerged under Frederick the Great of the house of Hohenzollern as the powerhouse of central Europe. With the decline of Spain, Great Britain and France emerged as the two main global colonial powers. The conflict would continue to roil Europe in vicious infighting, inspired by hubris, avarice and by deeply philosophical differences in the interpretation of the word of God. Meanwhile, in 1620 a truce in the Dutch wars expired, and the Huguenot minority population in France would rebel, bringing in a new theater of war. For his short reign, he would be thereafter known as "the Winter King." Frederick V was removed from power and exiled. Thirdly was the umbrage against involvement of the Turks.Bohemia was crushed. Once Emperor, Ferdinand set about gathering allies, including his Habsburg nephew (who happened to be the king of Spain). Secondly, the Holy Roman Emperor Matthias promptly died in March 1619, and left his realm to none other than the ousted Ferdinand. An army was even sent to siege Vienna itself. The war might have remained a localized Bohemian rebellion except for some major conflating factors: other member states of the Protestant Union took it as a sign for a general rebellion, and began to occupy parts of Austria. The revolution seemed to have succeeded marvelously. The Protestant Elector of the Palatinate, Frederick V was installed as the new monarch. Bohemia was taken by Protestants, and the zealous Catholic King Ferdinand was sent packing. The scenario opens on the Bohemian Revolt, which got off to a spectacular start by throwing a few Catholic representatives of the the Emperor out of a window. Often considered one of the most destructive wars in history, the Thirty Years' War was both a Protestant-versus-Catholic religious war, as well as a Bourbon-versus-Habsburg war between the great dynasties of Europe. This left the Albanian armies under the capable general Skanderbeg to fend off the Ottoman armies alone, which they would do for the next 24 years. The day after the crushing defeat of the Poles and Hungarians by the Ottoman Turks at the Battle of Varna, and the death of King Władysław III of Poland, ending the Crusade of Varna. Their shields glow green to differentiate them from other interesting nations. A handful of those are marked as beginner-friendly, recommended for new players to play.
Several nations are designated as interesting, these are represented by large shields in the bottom part of the screen. There are 15 different Historical Start bookmarks in the game, four of which are set during the same date and are simply meant to add flavour to certain areas of the world.