In 1644, three cannons accompanied by a pair of veteran soldiers open fire on the Arawak settlement of Cubanacan. The tiny village falls in a single turn, leaving only the larger settlement of Boriken to the west. You'd think it would be almost time to string up a "mission accomplished" banner. You'd be wrong.

Read about the Arawak War after the jump.

Once again, I've forgotten to take into account wandering braves. Native military units can meander freely inside European territory. And that's just what the peripatetic little jerks do. So when the cannons open fire on Cubanacan, I suddenly have two angry Arawak braves between Wasilla and the rest of my colonies. Wasilla is in the middle of an expansion boom, which includes a pair of hardy pioneers building hunting lodges in the forest and constructing a road to link Wasilla to Fort Beaver. I have to suspend these operations and pull the pioneers back. I've also got two colonists heading towards Wasilla that need to instead stop at settlements on the way until the route is safe.

What's more, I've got automated wagon trains carting loads of fur up to Fort Beaver. Fortunately, the automation turns off when there are hostile units in the way. But those pesky braves are going to interrupt the supply of fur to my Fort Beaver coat factory, which is going to interrupt my main source of income.

Who was in charge of the pre-war planning? Can we fire him?

Then disaster strikes. Braves start flooding out of Boriken, and I'm worried they're going to go past my cluster of soldiers and cannons instead of engaging them. So when General Braddock, my most valuable unit, sallies out to destroy a passing brave, he's left unaccompanied and injured. In 1647, Braddock is killed by the Arawak.

I'm now left with only a single military unit. And since I haven't yet started manufacturing weapons, or brought any weapons over from Europe, I have no way to provide additional soldiers. This also means my settlements are more vulnerable to attack since they'll only be defended by unarmed colonists. All the cannons in the area are with the army Braddock was leading. So I withdraw my forces into Wasilla. As braves from Boriken try to pass around Wasilla, I risk an attack by my last army on a passing brave. The odds are good. He wins. But before he can get back into the protection of settlement's stockade, he's killed. There went the last of the veterans of the Incan War, and the last of my soldiers.

I make a lousy conquistador.

By carefully redeploying cannons from other settlements, I eventually secure my colonies against wandering Arawak braves. But cannons are only good for attacking or defending settlements. I can't very well use them to stop the Arawak from tearing up my roads, hunting lodges, and the lone farm on the river plain north of Wasilla that was providing all its food. Which is exactly what they do. I don't dare send out any wagon trains of fur.

As I wait for my ships to come back with guns from Europe, my supply of fur dwindles. The coat factory in Fort Beaver is shuttered and the master furriers are assigned to the settlement's tobacco plantation and carpenter's shop. It's another 14 years until a veteran solider arrives from Spain with enough guns to recruit two more soldiers. My new army marches out of El Norte Piedra and starts working its way towards Boriken. When it finally arrives in 1680, Boriken is razed in a single turn, along with a tiny Arawak settlement nearby.

But at least my colonies are safer now. Or so I thought…

Up next: Tupi trouble.

(Click here for the previous Colonization game diary.)