[TW Guide] ETW: A Guide to Spain

[Astaroth]

Author: Astaroth
Original Thread: A Guide to Spain

A Guide To Spain

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Spain - An Overview
3. Spain's Neighbors
4. The Strategy
5. Summary

I. Introduction

Spain was the first major power with colonies in the New World. Everyone knows about Christopher Columbus, Hernán Cortés and Francisco Pizarro. Due to their conquests, Spain now controls a huge part of the Americas. However, in the 18th century, Spain is not quite as powerful as it used to be anymore. The Catholic monarchy doesn't have a heir and France has surpassed it as the leading power in Europe. Therefore, playing as Spain in Empire: Total War is be a great - and very enjoyable - challenge.

Simply choose Spain in the faction selection menu and you're ready to go! But wait, there are two last things you have to do beforehand: deciding on your victory conditions and campaign difficulty. I for my part prefer longer campaigns so I tend to go with either "World Domination" or "Long Campaign". However, feel free to play a "Short Campaign" if you wish.
I usually go with the "Hard" difficulty setting for both battle and campaign map. It poses a good challenge without giving the AI unfair morale and statistic boosts. If you're not used to strategy games in general and Total War games in particular, Medium/Medium might be better for you, though. The "Easy" difficulty setting is mainly meant for complete beginners or simply for testing things. The AI is extremely passive and weak if you choose that setting. And we want a challenge, don't we?

Your campaign selection screen could now look like this (oh and that adviser is very annoying, I'd strongly suggest to switch her off unless you really need the help):

Time to get started! Many challenges lie before you.

II. Spain - An Overview

At the beginning of the game, the Catholic kingdom's territory stretches from Cuba to Italy, from Florida to Spain itself. It owns Spain, Gibraltar, Lombardy, Belgium, Sardinia and Naples & Sicily in the European theater; Florida, Cuba and Hispaniola in the American theater and no possessions in the Indian theater. Therefore, Spain is obviously still quite powerful. However, so many starting territories also bring along many responsibilities and problems. Not to mention that administering all of them is quite a feat. You have to avoid rebellions everywhere, balance the taxes so they fit for every province in each theater and upgrade your economy everywhere so no regions get left behind. Last but not least you obviously also have to defend all of these regions - and be prepared, there are many enemies who will try to take them from you!

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The Government

Spain is an absolute monarchy. That means that the king can remove his minsters from office whenever he wants to by replacing them with another hopefully more capable man. This is obviously a big advantage as incompetent people will not be able to damage your finances, prestige or military strength. On top of that, Spain's nobles fully support their king and are very happy with this type of government. As a result, you will be able to set their taxes up to a very high level without them complaining. That will definitely be a boost to your treasury. However, an absolute monarchy is based on the oppression of the lower classes so they will try to improve their situation, even if that will result in rioting and revolting. If a lower class revolution manages to succeed, Spain will turn into a republic and its flag will become the modern Spanish one. Being a republic offers many advantages without a doubt. To begin with, the lower class is obviously much happier and much more willing to pay higher taxes and to obey. Furthermore, you'll be able to advance and develop without problems as the people will not be opposed to it anymore. As a result, stronger troops, better formations and more profitable buildings become available. Another plus is a good standing with all other republics in the game. However, that leads us to the downsides of being a republic. Most major nations are still absolute monarchies and won't be all that friendly towards republics. Therefore, being a republic may well worsen your standing with some important countries. Another disadvantage are the unhappy nobles who'll refuse to pay higher taxes. On top of that, you will no longer be able to dismiss and appoint ministers all the time. Only one minister can be removed each turn and new elections might well bring incapable people to power. Negative consequences are not unlikely.
However, there is yet another possible type of government: a constitutional monarchy. If the nobility in a republic manages to revolt and to overthrow the existing government, a constitutional monarchy will be founded. As the name suggests, it is a mixture of a republic and an absolute monarchy. As such, the king will have quite some power but it is somewhat limited. The lower class people will support him but not to the extent of which they'd support a republic.
In conclusion, each of the three different types of government has its advantages and disadvantages. In the end the choice who your country should be lead by comes down to personal preference. Some might want to have total control about everything while others prefer to further democracy.
I for my part tend to stay with an absolute monarchy at the start of the game as it grants me military advantages, improved diplomatic standings at the beginning and full control. Once I have established my Spanish Empire in Europe, I like switching to a republic in order to avoid constant riots by the lower class, to boost my technological advance and to improve my economy.

However, there is one last thing we should mention: Spain's king is horrible. For some reason (probably due to the fact that the historical king Charles II was mentally and physically disabled. Have a look at his Wikipedia entry for more information), he has lots of bad traits which results in many negative effects for your country. Not to mention that he doesn't have any heirs so a succession war might well start after his death. He's one of the nation's biggest disadvantages and yet another reason to start a revolution as soon as possible. But more of that later on.

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Diplomacy

At the beginning of the game, Spain's considerable number of enemies is compensated by its strong allies. Since Spain is no longer under Hapsburg dominance, Austria is quite hostile towards it. The Austrians want to reclaim the Spanish possessions and will not hesitate to declare war. On top of that, the United Provinces have become independent from Spain only a few decades ago and are still its enemies. Spain's province of Flanders borders the Netherlands so a war isn't unlikely. England isn't exactly friendly towards the Spanish kingdom either, due to the long rivalry between the two countries.
However, the powerful France is a close Spanish ally and will support the country as much as possible. Since the French are a quite dominant power in Europe at the moment, the alliance with them is certainly very valuable. Smaller countries like Bavaria and Central Italy might support Spain as well.
In the Americas the situation is similar. While Spain's protectorate New Spain gives them a considerable edge, the hostile pirates and Cherokee will probably cause a lot of trouble.
In conclusion, Spain's diplomatic standing is quite mixed. While some countries are very close and important allies, others hate the Spanish and won't hesitate to declare war on them. These contrasts will not only make the campaign rather challenging but also very exciting and fun.

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The mission which allows you to make New Spain join your empire and your government at the beginning of the game.

New Spain

At the beginning of the game, New Spain is a Spanish protectorate. However, when playing as Spain you're in a unique situation: it is possible to make your protectorate join your Empire by completing a mission. Once you have captured three different regions in the Americas - Trinidad & Tobago, Texas and Curacao - the mission will be fulfilled and New Spain will become part of your nation. Since your protectorate is extremely wealthy, large and important, it would undoubtedly be wise to incorporate it into your empire. Therefore, you should try to conquer the regions in question as soon as possible. However, keep in mind that the Caribbean's pirates field strong fleets and that the Pueblo Indians amass huge armies quickly. You shouldn't attack too quickly as otherwise your fleets will be destroyed and your power in the Americas will be gone. Don't wait too long either, though as the Native Americans and Pirates will use the time to increase the size of their armies and fleets considerably. And that already leads us to the second chapter: Spain's neighbors.

III. Spain's Neighbors

Since Spain controls many lands in different corners of the world it has lots of neighbors. On the Iberian peninsula, Spain borders Portugal and Morocco in the southwest and France in the north. Spain's province Flanders also borders France, along with the Netherlands and Westphalia. In Italy, Spain's Milan borders Savoy, Genoa and Venice. The kingdom's province of Naples only borders Central Italy in its north and is surrounded by the Mediterranean on all other sides.
In the Americas, Spain's region Florida borders the Cherokees and Louisiana (which will become part of France soon). While Cuba and Hispaniola are islands and do thus not directly border any other regions, they lie close to the British colonies on the Bahamas and Jamaica. They aren't far from one of the two pirate islands, either.
Since Spain is surrounded by so many potential enemies, it's obvious that it is in a rather dangerous situation. Therefore, we shall now analyze all of its neighbors in order to find out their strengths and weaknesses. That way, dealing with them will be considerably easier. Let's start with the European theater.

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Part 1: The European Neighbors


Morocco

Morocco is a Muslim country in northwestern Africa. Its capital is Tangier. In order to reach it from Spain you need to cross the Straits of Gibraltar. Morocco's land army isn't very powerful and will most likely not pose a threat to your kingdom. However, the country's fleets could well become extremely annoying. Morocco often declares war on you early in the game so the country's ships will end up blocking your ports, raiding your trade routes and attacking your fleets. This will inevitably lower hurt your treasury considerably. Needless to say, you can't accept that and have to act. But what would the best move be? Mount a fleet to deal with the Moroccan ships? Invade their lands? This decision isn't as easy as it might sound as conquering Morocco itself means that you have to deal with a lot of internal strife and riots. The Muslim population will not accept their new Catholic overlords. However, if you simply try to confront them with ships of your own, the war will be long and the outcome uncertain. Not to mention that focusing on the sea inevitably means neglecting the land to an extent. Therefore, you shouldn't attack Morocco too quickly before you have realized the consequences.

Portugal

Portugal is a rather quiet neighbor. The country has only a single region (Portugal) or city (Lisbon) in Europe and a small region in India so it isn't very powerful. On top of that, its land army is relatively small and it will most likely focus on building ships. Its economy is nothing special either. Therefore, it doesn't really pose a threat to you for the first few decades. Portugal isn't aggressive so you do not have to worry about keeping a strong garrison in Madrid, Spain either. The Portuguese will most likely not even raid your towns. Therefore, you can simply ignore them early on. A trade relationship or maybe even alliance is possible but by no means necessary or important. Attacking the country is rather pointless as well since it isn't especially rich nor do you remove an important enemy by taking it out.
However, Portugal's strength will increase over the years. Eventually, the country might feel powerful enough to attack you. You needn't worry, though as its armies are generally of a poor quality. Not to mention that your nation should be much stronger by that time anyway. Either way, you shouldn't care about Portugal for the time being.

France

France lies north of your country, right across the Pyrenees. The country consists of two regions, one of them being France itself (capital: Paris) and the other being Alsace-Lorraine (capital: Strasbourg). Furthermore, France owns several colonies in the Americas. As a result, the French are a major power with a lot of influence. Their army is quite large and their economy is considerably strong. Therefore, making France your enemy is clearly not a great idea. However, since the relations between Spain and France are very good you do not have to worry about them at all. France is a close Spanish ally and thus doesn't pose any kind of threat to you in the near future. This means that Spain's northern and Flanders's southern border are both completely safe. That frees up troops which you can use elsewhere (for example against Morocco and the United Provinces).
In the Americas, your and France's interests do not clash, either as your focus lies mainly on Central America and the Caribbean while the French concentrate on Northern America. Therefore, you can reap the benefits from the trade with France and do not have to worry about them at all. The time to take on France hasn't come yet.

The United Provinces

The Protestant Netherlands used to be under Spanish rule, but revolted and formed their own country - the United Provinces. As a result, they are rather hostile towards their former overlords who still own the province of Flanders south of Holland. While the United Provinces only control a single region in Europe, they are rather powerful, have a strong economy and have colonies in India (Ceylon) and the Americas (Curacao, Dutch Guyana). Therefore, they will surely pose a big challenge to you, especially early on. Flanders is isolated and your ally France isn't a big help. Therefore, you'll have to stay defensive if you don't want to lose your region to the Dutch. Avoiding war with them is pretty much impossible, though as they love raiding your towns and annoying you. Thus I'd suggest simply building up your army in Belgium constantly, waiting for the right opportunity to strike back. Don't worry about their assaults, as long as you build up your army steadily and avoid wars with other states in the area it should work out without a problem.

Westphalia

While Westphalia is one of your neighbors and borders Flanders in the east, it plays a very minor role in your campaign. The country controls a single region and will most likely be very passive. It won't expand but will probably build a strong army to deter any invaders. Therefore, nobody will conquer it anytime soon. You should simply ignore this small nation as it is too unimportant to invade and too strong to be worth the effort. It will almost certainly not annoy you either.

Savoy

Savoy is a small nation which borders Spain's city Milan in northern Italy. Just like Westphalia, it won't expand and doesn't pose a threat to you. Your position in Milan isn't strong enough to conquer it, though. Therefore, you should simply ignore it for the first few years of your campaign.
While Savoy has a decent fleet it will probably not attack you so you shouldn't worry about that.

Genoa

Genoa is very similar to Savoy. However, there are two major differences. For one, the country controls two regions, namely Genoa itself and Corsica. Secondly, it seems to be more hostile towards you than the other small nations in the area. It is quite possible that Genoa will declare war on you sooner or later. While it will most likely not attack you with land armies, it is quite possible that Genoa's fleets will raid your trade routes, block your ports and attack your ships. Since the Mediterranean isn't that important for your trade it won't be a huge problem but Genoa does nonetheless pose an annoyance.

The Italian States

There isn't much to be said about this faction. It controls Rome and will increase the size of its army slowly but steadily over the course of the game. However, it will not expand and doesn't pose a threat to you. As your relations with it are rather good you might want to form an alliance with it. Either way, you can basically ignore this faction until the time comes to unite Italy under the Spanish flag. But more of that later on in the next chapter.

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Part 2: The American Neighbors


Louisiana

Louisiana is a rather small faction in Northern America. It controls two regions and is a protectorate of your ally France. However, despite its ties to the French and its relative weakness it is nonetheless rather hostile towards you and will not hesitate to attack you. Louisiana's troops will probably begin raiding Florida's towns very early in the game and an assault on Florida's capital itself is quite possible as well. However, within a few turns, Louisiana will automatically join France so the problem will solve itself sooner or later.

The Cherokee Nations

Most people will agree that the Native Americans are quite strong and aggressive in ETW. In that respect the Cherokee are no different. While they might not have access to the most modern troops and technologies, the Cherokee do have very powerful melee units, a decent economy and rather large starting armies to compensate for that. Their soldiers will already attack you very early on and losing Florida to them is not as unlikely as it might sound. Your garrison there is rather small and the Cherokee tend to send huge armies even early in the game. We will cover this in greater detail later on, though.

The Pirates

While the Caribbean pirates do not directly border any of your American regions I decided to mention them anyway as they do have quite some significance in the Spanish campaign. The pirates control two islands in the eastern Caribbean Sea and send their fleets all across the ocean to raid trade routes, block ports and attack other ships. They start the game with considerably big fleets, keep building new ones and also capture other ships regularly. As a result, the pirate fleets tend to become rather big within a few years. However, their only regions are two small islands with an insignificant population and economy. They can also only train a single unit and will never conquer any further regions. Therefore, their weakness clearly lies on land. But if you do not deal with them quickly, they will become incredibly annoying and could well end up blocking most or even all of your trade to Europe. Not to mention that you have to conquer both of their islands in order to complete the mission which lets New Spain join you.

After this analysis of Spain's various neighbors we can finally move on to the most important chapter: the strategy. Our newly attained knowledge about the different factions will undoubtedly be very useful later on.

IV. The Strategy

With so many different regions, deciding on a game plan isn't as easy as one might think. Since the Spanish settlements and forces are scattered all across Europe and the Americas, determining where to strike first is rather hard. Furthermore, there are obviously also many different possible campaign strategies and adapting is definitely necessary. But let's get started.

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Step 1: Consolidating our holdings in America and making first plans

Since Spain's American army is rather small, I would advise against being all that aggressive there early on. Both the Cherokee and the Louisianians are very powerful at the beginning and facing them would certainly be an uphill battle. Florida is your kingdom's only settlement on the American mainland so producing a strong enough army to face the various threats is neigh impossible. Your islands in the Caribbean - such as Cuba for example - can't provide many quality units in time, either. So what can we possibly do against much stronger enemies who will undoubtedly assault Florida sooner or later? Shall we try to defend our settlement against almost impossible odds? I for my part don't think so. Florida isn't very important and there is no reason to defend that minor settlement at the cost of having even more enemies to face. The Native American armies are simply too strong and big and there would be no point in fighting against them just yet. Therefore, I'd highly suggest abandoning Florida. What? Abandon a settlement? Yes, you've read correctly. Florida is simply not worth the hassle so it shall be given up. It's up to you what you do with the army stationed there; you may disband it, take it to Cuba by boat or simply let it get destroyed by the invading Cherokee.
After this first step, our first goal has been accomplished: we have one less front to fight on and can focus on more important matters. But before we move on to Europe and the main theater of war, I'll outline our basic strategy for the Americas.

As explained above, there is a mission which you can fulfill to make your protectorate - New Spain - join your faction. This would increase your power in the Americas considerably so it is certainly desirable. But where can we got the troops from which are necessary to conquer the settlements in question? And which of them should be our first target? Neither Cuba nor Hispaniola has a big starting garrison and neither of them is a major troop production center, either. Therefore, our only choice is slowly building up an army. You should aim for an upgraded barracks in Cuba (which will also be very useful later on) but keep producing militia and the Indian auxiliaries whilst. Furthermore, build a somewhat sizable navy to transport your troops and to deal with the nearby pirates. While you might not be able to build powerful units, you have to keep in mind that the pirates don't build any units on their islands so conquering those is very well possible.

Aside from building up an army, simply upgrade your plantations and other economic buildings steadily and aim for a higher tier barracks. You don't really need any churches nor universities there, though and research will be covered by your European facilities. Anyway, after this brief survey of our holdings in the Americas and our plans for the continent we shall move on to Europe.

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Step 2: Taking over Africa and the Netherlands

Since France is a close Spanish ally, your northern border will be secure early on. Therefore, you can focus on other regions and don't have to worry about keeping many troops in Madrid or near the Pyrenees. While Portugal isn't one of your allies, it isn't exactly a threat either and will spend the first few dozen turns building up troops and a fleet. Therefore, you don't have to worry about that country either. What does that leave us with? Exactly, Africa.
But keep in mind that the continent is mainly Muslim so religious unrest is ensured and holding it will definitely be a challenge. Despite that, conquering it is a good idea anyway because Morocco and the Barbary States will otherwise become extremely annoying. Their fleets will keep blocking your trade routes and ports which would in turn severely hurt your economy. Therefore, conquering Africa early on is quite a good choice because it removes a major thorn in your side.
Simply build of a moderately big army in Madrid, then move towards Morocco quickly. Taking the city shouldn't be a big problem and the only challenge is keeping it from rioting later on. Stay in the city for a few turns until the population calms down, then let a decently sized force garrison the settlement while continuing towards Algiers and Tunis with your main force. Try to constantly bring reinforcements from Madrid as well.

Simply conquer the African cities one by one.

The Barbary States aren't a huge power on land either so beating them is merely a matter of conquering a town, waiting until the population has stopped rioting, leaving a moderately big garrison there, possibly exempting them from taxes and moving on to the next city. In order to appease the conquered regions in the long run, your best bet is to build churches to slowly convert the population to Catholicism. Otherwise, the people will get increasingly unhappy and even large garrisons will not be able to contain them anymore. Simply keep sending troops to the front, from Madrid, Gibraltar and your newly conquered towns. Eventually, Tunis and Tripoli will fall as well and the conquest of the Barbary States will be complete. However, the real challenge will be to fight the various rebels which will inevitably spawn. Therefore, try to build as many churches as possible very quickly. Be prepared to keep strong garrisons in the African towns for many turns, though. Keep upgrading Spain's and Africa's economic buildings and send all available priests to your newly conquered areas as soon as they are spawned.

Now that the situation in Africa and Spain is dealt with, we can focus on Spain's other regions. In Italy, there really isn't much you can do. Your two settlements - Naples and Milan - are isolated, have small starting armies, are surrounded by several strong nations and can't really be used as a base for building an invasion force. Not to mention that none of the Italian factions is particularly hostile towards you so you can simply build up your economy peacefully there. Therefore, simply try to ally with some of Italy's factions and trade with them if possible. I wouldn't bother training soldiers in your Italian troops and you should focus on upgrading your local economic buildings instead.

However, in Flanders the situation is completely different. While Flanders' south is covered by your French allies, the United Provinces lie in its north. The Dutch are rather hostile towards you and will most likely invade your lands sooner or later. Since Holland isn't exactly a major military power at the beginning of the game, this wouldn't be a problem in theory. However, since Flanders is isolated and cut off from your other regions, you can't rely on any troops aside from the ones trained and stationed there. As a result, you must train as many units as possible there. I'd suggest building an advanced barracks as well while constantly producing militia and some cavalry. The Dutch will raid your lands but there isn't much you can do about it early on. Generally, I'd simply let them capture my various economic buildings while increasing my army's size considerably. Use your spy to scout the Dutch capital - Amsterdam - constantly. Once your army is big enough you should strike immediately, before the other Dutch armies can come to the aid of their capital. Actually winning the battle shouldn't be too hard as weak militias will make up for a sizable part of the Dutch army. Once Amsterdam has fallen, the United Provinces will be destroyed and all Dutch armies will disband automatically so your towns will no longer be occupied and you can finally repair them. However, make sure to stay in Amsterdam with your army for a few turns in order to keep the population from rioting. Damaged buildings should be repaired quickly as well to further improve the public order.

And the first step towards the conquest of Europe has been completed. One of your major enemies is gone, your power base in central Europe is considerably stronger and you can concentrate on the Americas yet again. All the while, don't forget to repair your damaged buildings, to build economic buildings everywhere and to form further trade alliances, especially with some of the Indian powers. Currently, the situation in Europe should be very much in your favor, with your enemies - namely the United Provinces, Morocco and the Barbary States - gone, Africa under your control, Italy peaceful and friendly, Portugal harmless and France still your relieable ally. Therefore, simply keep sending priests to Africa, build up your economy everywhere and try to maintain good relations with your neighbors. Producing a few warships can't hurt either, as pirates or other enemies might well begin to block your trade routes. Not to mention that your African army will need to be brought to Europe before long as well...

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Island hopping part 1: Use your Cuban army to conquer Curacao, then move on to Trinidad&Tobago.

Step 3: Conquering the Caribbean islands and France

Several turns have passed and your army and navy in Cuba and Hispaniola should have grown considerably by now. The time to strike has come! Board your ships with your two armies and move south. The pirates shouldn't be that powerful yet so you don't have to worry about losing your fleet unless it is very small. That's another reason why you should act now rather than later on, because the Caribbean pirates will become incredibly annoying and also very strong.
Anyway, move your fleet south towards Curacao, one of your three mission objectives. By now, your European forces should already have conquered Amsterdam (thus ending the existence of the United Provinces faction) so the settlement should be a rebel one and easy to take. Leave one or two units of militia there and possibly exempt the island from taxes if it would riot otherwise. Now move on to the first actual pirate settlement on Trinidad&Tobago, which is also one of your three objectives if you want to finish the "New Spain" mission successfully. The pirates field rather weak (melee) infantry mainly so as long as you have brought at least half a stack of units conquering the town will be a cakewalk. Proceed as you did on Curacao, leave a few units there and board your ships again.
Now you have two choices:

1. Move on to the next (and last) pirate settlement in the Caribbean Sea - Antigua. That way, you'll get rid of the pirates very quickly and do not have to worry about them anymore. Furthermore, your army will be able to return to Cuba fast, making an attack on Texas (your third and last mission objective) very well possible. However, there's also another possibility.
2. The Dutch tend to attain French Guyana from France rather early in the game (whether they do that via diplomatic means or by sheer military force remains a mystery). Since you have already conquered Amsterdam and thus destroyed the Dutch faction, both Dutch Guyana and French Guyana will become rebel-owned, making them easy prey. By conquering them, you will gain two potentially rather wealthy regions with various mines. Not to mention that you will probably not get to that corner of the world again at a later point in the game.

I for my part decided to go with option 2 as it gives you a greater advantage in the long run and doesn't cost you much more than a few turns and some units of militia which you'll have to use as garrisons. Take your fleet from Trinidad&Tobago, sail down to the two Guyanas and conquer them one by one. Afterwards, you should wait for a few turns, to rebuild the aforementioned regions, to improve their economy and, most importantly, to train a new army in Curacao and Trinidad&Tobago. Neither Dutch nor French Guyana are particularly great troop production centers so you have to rely on your two newly attained isles.

Island hopping part 2: Move on to Dutch and French Guyana, then proceed to conquer the Windward Islands.

While preparing our next invasion force in the Caribbean, we shall now have a look at Europe again. You should have used the past few turns to build up your economy everywhere, while also increasing your army's size in the Netherlands and Flanders. Now the time has come to decide on our next victim. I personally believe that France is a great next target due to its economic power and since it is so close to our main European troop production centers. For the time being, you should ignore Africa (where your priests and churches should convert the local population to Catholicism) and Italy (where you should just build a few vineyards and trade with your neighbors) while focussing on training as many troops as possible in Flanders and Spain itself. Our plan is to attack France from two angles at once in order to defeat it with one massive strike. Your army in the Netherlands should still be reasonably big after the conquest of Holland so you should aim for having two full stacks there. In Spain I'd build roughly one stack of line infantry and possibly a few units of cavalry and artillery plus a general. Once your southern army is ready, march north through France until you reach the capital Paris. Remember, you are still allied so France will take no offense even if you walk over its territory. All the while, bring your other two stacks from the north into position near Paris as well. Once your stacks are ready, attack the city with all of them simultaneaously. It should fall easily. However, this will of course result in war with France. Therefore, be prepared to face various half-stacks and stacks from France and Strasbourg over the next few turns. Simply defend Paris itself (ignore the small towns in your newly acquired province for now) and Flanders and re-build your army and the buildings in the former French capital.
With such a huge army, your treasury will probably suffer - also because of Africa, which is most likely still exempt from taxes - so you need to act quickly again. Once the population of Paris has calmed down a bit and doesn't riot anymore, move your army towards Strasbourg and crush the French kingdom once and for all.
And it's done! With almost no effort, you have conquered a vast new province, destroyed a major European power and increased your power base considerably. Now the time has come to focus on America once again, in order to finish our business in the Caribbean!

With the end of France, the Windward Islands, a French colony, will become rebel-owned. Since they are rather close to your own colonies, this seems to be the perfect opportunity to conquer them as well. Move your fleet from Dutch Guyana north, board it with your newly trained army from Curacao and Trinidad&Tobago and sail towards the former French colony. Needless to say, defeat the rebels, rebuild the town, leave a small garrison and move on. Only a single target remains now: Antigua, the last remaining base of the Caribbean pirates. If you need reinforcements, send your ships back to Curacao to get a few more troops, then land on the Leeward Islands, march towards Antigua and take the settlement immediately. After a probably rather one-sided battle, the city will be yours and piracy will be gone once and for all!

Now you should simply ship the remainders of your army back to your Cuban base and begin training a new invasion force there. Almost the whole Caribbean is yours now and the time has come for the conquest of Texas! However, beforehand we must return to Europe yet again.

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Step 4: The shores of Italy & Viva la Revolution!

After conquering France and Strasbourg, your army will most likely be too big. However, instead of disbanding parts of it, it is probably a better solution to put them to use. But where should we expand next? Is marching further into Central Europe really a smart move? Or would Italy be a better choice? I personally would go for the latter. Central Europe consists of many small yet rather strong countries which will put up a good fight if you decide to invade them. Furthermore, they tend to have various protectors (such as Poland, Prussia or Austria) which will inevitably turn on you as well. Finally, Italy is also wealthier than the German states and you already have two settlements there, which will make conquering it much easier.
Therefore, take your army and march towards Savoy and Genoa. It's actually quite possible that one of the two small factions will declare war on you before you attack them anyway so that's yet another reason to take them out. March through the Alps and conquer Savoy and Genoa, then bring a fleet from Africa (along with the remainders of the army which originally conquered the Barbary States) and use it to take your army to Corsica. Take the remaining Genoese settlement on the island and the faction is gone. Now only two Italian nations remain: Venice and the Italian States. I for my part would suggest attacking the latter as it tends to be weaker and is also close to another Italian settlement of yours - Naples. Use that opportunity to train a few units in Naples and march towards Rome with both of your Italian armies eventually. Conquering the city shouldn't be a problem at this stage of the game. And now the deed is almost done and taking Venice is the last thing you have to do before the whole Italian peninsula will finally be united under your rule. You might as well wait a few turns, rebuild the Italian cities and towns and train a few new units of line infantry and militia before striking finally. While Venice is stronger than most other Italian factions, it won't be able to withstand your army due to your way higher amount of troop production centers and superior economy.

Conquer Savoy, Genoa and Corsica with the armies which you used to defeat France.

However, while military expansion isn't really hard at this point of the game, there are other problems which are becoming increasingly serious. The lower class of your population will most likely have become very unhappy due to the growing amount of researched technologies. That has lead to countless riots and rebellions, forcing you to lower the taxes or even exempt some regions from taxes altogether. Needless to say, this is extremely costly and should definitely be avoided. We won't be able to survive like this much longer so change is necessary. Therefore, I'd highly suggest to turn your absolute monarchy into a republic immediately. Move all of your troops away from your capital, set the taxes for the lower class in the European theater to high (you might have to exempt several other regions from taxes in order to avoid rebellions anywhere but in your capital) and wait a few turns. Eventually, an actual revolution will take place which will allow you to lead the lower class to victory. After successfully conquering Madrid with the revolutionary army, all of your problems will suddenly be solved! Your population is no longer unhappy and you can finally tax all of your settlements again while also increasing the taxes. This will boost your income significantly and can't hurt you much diplomatically anymore, since most European countries will hate you due to your constant aggression anyway. Furthermore, your inept king will be gone and succession wars will not take place once he dies.

Your country has now successfully been turned into a republic which is - in my opinion at least - a huge advantage at that stage of the game. Spain has now become an economic powerhouse and a major power in continental Europe which may conquer other regions at will. Now there is only one last main thing to do left: establishing a similar base of power in the Americas.

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Send an army from Cuba to conquer Texas in order to finish the mission finally.

Step 5: Becoming the dominant American power

After conquering several islands and colonies in the Caribbean, you have already become a quite strong nation in America. However, Spain still lacks major troop production centers and a real economic base on the continent and is still only one amongst many powers there. In order to change that, we must finally finish our mission to gain complete dominance over New Spain. The last remaining objective which we must conquer is Texas, held by the Pueblo Nations, a quite powerful Native American tribe. Since our only real troop production center is Cuba, we have to concentrate on building line infantry there. Once you have roughly one full stack of troops (possibly also consisting of some militia units from your past campaigns in the Caribbean), board your fleet and sail to Texas. If you're lucky, a considerable part of the Native army will be near the border to New Spain. That will make it possible to conquer their capital and to destroy the faction without actually having to face their superior armies. However, be prepared to bring many troops - possibly some artillery as well - because the Indians are tough fighters and field many stacks to defend their homeland.
Eventually, you should be able to defeat them so proceed and capture Texas. Finally! The mission is completed! Now New Spain will join your nation and you will gain access to all of South and Central America's riches. Conquering the rest of America is merely a matter of building up your economy in what formerly was New Spain, training myriads of grenadiers, horsemen, artillery and units of line infantry in Mexico City and slowly conquering the Cherokee who will probably own a vast part of North America by now. While they are undoubtedly numerous and strong, your economy is simply superior and cannons will give you an edge in many battles.

Our quest is now completed. Spain has become the strongest power in Europe and the Americas, with an incredibly strong economy, a massive power base and many advanced metropolises. Other nations can no longer challenge you and if the likes of Portugal decide to declare war on you that's merely a matter of training a few stacks within some turns and defeating them quickly. Being a republic, you can also advance technologically without problems. If you ever want more control again, forcing a upper class revolution to happen and becoming a parliamentary monarchy isn't hard, either. You have basically all options, you might launch an invasion against England, establish a foothold in India or simply proceed to conquer Europe and the Americas. If you want to play more defensively that's also perfectly possible. You have such a strong power base that you can simply keep improving your economy and building up your cities and towns until you're ready to steamroll the whole world with your elite soldiers.

V. Summary

In conclusion, Spain is definitely an extremely enjoyable and exciting faction to play. Due to its many starting territories in the different theaters it offers countless possibilities and is very versatile. Bringing this once so great nation back to the peak of its power is not an easy task and definitely very challenging - but it's also a rewarding and fun experience. Over the course of the campaign have to make many decisions which have a huge impact on whether you'll be successful or not which further increases the thrill of playing Spain.
Despite the many challenges which playing Spain poses, the faction also has a lot of potential and will definitely become a powerhouse quickly in the hands of an experienced player and able general. Therefore, I personally consider Spain a faction which is definitely worth playing.
But now go ahead and conquer the known world under the Spanish flag, go and lead the proud nation to victory!

The flag of the Spanish Empire.