Colonization worth it?

[shikaka]

Hi!

I am quite new to EU3 (EU2 veteran), and after 2 learning games (as Hungary and Timurids) I am playing a colonial nation, England to get used to this side of the game.

But if I don't miss anything, it seems that colonisation is not worth it?


I colonized the area around Manhattan (about 8 cities and 2 unfinised colonies) but it seems that they don't make enough money AND slows down my research. (even though they are cities, they are nothing compared to London...)

[Vioras]

Don't underestimate the colonies.

I played a game with Portugal, and I didn't expanded in Europe.
I only colonized and some war in America with my colonies.

After several years i got many colonies which growed to cities, thanks to that Portugal became a superpower.

And say... you dont like to see your country be big all over the world??

[shikaka]

Thanks for the answer.
I hope they will become a useful addition later on!

And say... you dont like to see your country be big all over the world??

Actually, in EU2 I always preferred land-based countries (like Ottomans, Timurids, Poland) over colonizers.

[Tankfriend]

Just be careful not to colonize too fast and too "shallow". Each colony below a population of 1000 is incapable of paying for its own upkeep, so you have to fork out some money for that. Sending additional colonists to the same colony can speed up the growth process considerably, as do any peaceful natives that happen to live in the area, if I remember correctly. However, when it's about grabbing territory, you more or less have to swallow the additional expense at times.

[ivan_the_terrible]

I don't think natives speed up the colony's growth, but whatever native population there is at the point the colony becomes self-sustaining (ie reaches 1000 people) is added to the 1000.

The aggressiveness determines the likelyhood of native uprisings and such while the pop is still below 1000. Ferocity determines how effective said uprisings are.


Personally, I don't like colonisation. I find it boring and mostly not worth the trouble, with the exception of particularly resource-rich areas. However, as a northern european country you can enrich your centres of trade considerably in the early game by colonising in canada or siberia where fur is plentiful.

Remember that it costs money to send each colonist and to pay for the upkeep of the colony while it's under 1000 people -- money that you could be using for something else...

[Tankfriend]

I don't think natives speed up the colony's growth, but whatever native population there is at the point the colony becomes self-sustaining (ie reaches 1000 people) is added to the 1000.

Right, it was that way around, they join the colony after the 1000 limit. My mistake.

[ivan_the_terrible]

Yes, the main benefit being you keep the settler country's (ie your) culture in the province while anywhere from doubling to quadrupling the population. It's basically a choice of short vs long-term gain. Kill the natives and your colonists have a higher chance of succeeding but you'll only have 1000 people; leave them and more of your colonists are likely to fail but you'll have more once the colony becomes self-sustaining.

[Tankfriend]

Like all the little islands off the African coast. They all have a sizeable population of peaceful natives that jump-start your colonies once past 1000 inhabitants.

[Poach]

Early colonisation is a drain rather than a boost on your nation, it is true: they make very little money and slow down research.

This changes fast, however, when you hit mid-game: things like cotton, tobacco and fur skyrocket in value. If you net yourself a decent colonial possession in the Americas early on you'll profit wildly later.

[Musthavename]

If you're playing HTTT or earlier, go for every Fur province you can find. That generally means the Manhattan / Canada area, and taking out Huron/Iroquos. Fur is fantastically valuable early-game, while most other Colonial Resources take ages to get going. Once you get past 1600, and your provinces have Marketplaces, Constables, Custom Houses etc, colonial goods become very valuable and will really help. Gold provinces are also winners, but they're stuck in South America where most resources are crap early on.

If you're playing Divine Wind, it really isn't worth it right now. Buildings are far rarer, and Paradox "forgot" to edit the way goods are priced, with colonial goods relying on having a lot of buildings in the world, so they never really increase in price.

[ivan_the_terrible]

That reminds me: don't build workshops in your overseas provinces. They wont have any effect because these provinces don't have any production income, but tariffs instead.