Note: I hate to suggest something quite so obviously DLC-able but hopefully this would come alongside a good free patch addressing the core ahistoricality of the way that colonial companies function. And I very much present this all as a set of suggestions for discussion, rather than a perfect-system out of the box - please do let me know your thoughts or where I've miskiltered something!
This is a post summarising some additions and modifications I think could be made to colonial companies, which I think are historically interesting, relatively specific to this period, underdiscussed, and shockingly unpleasant. They also do not work very well in game, being treated just as regular colonial subjects, without the idiosyncratic pressures these entities faced as quasi-autonomous profit-seeking entities - note how the British EIC exhibited some very weird behaviour before a dissolution event was grafted on. I am going to base my analysis here on my primarily on my (very much not expert) knowledge of the British East India Company, but I would hope that these systems could be expanded to also apply to the Dutch VOC, the British South Africa Company, United Fruit, and conceivably dynamically generated company entities. I imagine some of this might be best left on the shelf until investment and nationalism mechanics are properly worked out, but to start mixing in ideas across three broad areas:
Dissolution
It strikes me that company-colonies should have three ways of "ending", the latter two of which represent real crises faced by the East India Company:
Interest groups
I have many, many, many gripes with the interest group system in general (see my signature for a set of rolling rants), but in any event, they are a mischaracterisation of the various pressures faced by colonial companies. In my ideal world, each country would begin with their own well-researched set of individual starting IGs and generate new ones dynamically as the game progressed, and so here is my suggestion for the (largely-undynamic) IGs I think colonial companies could have:
Laws
A number of the laws, governance principles, distribution of power, economic system and trade policy make significantly less sense for a state predicated on its existed as a colonial charter designed to extract value. I would instead propose the following laws:
Governance Structure
Economic Focus
Civil Service Access
I would also add an event with a low likelihood of firing that gives cultures largely under company control an additional linguistic trait of their coloniser so that "Full participation" actually functions as intended.
What do you think?
This is a post summarising some additions and modifications I think could be made to colonial companies, which I think are historically interesting, relatively specific to this period, underdiscussed, and shockingly unpleasant. They also do not work very well in game, being treated just as regular colonial subjects, without the idiosyncratic pressures these entities faced as quasi-autonomous profit-seeking entities - note how the British EIC exhibited some very weird behaviour before a dissolution event was grafted on. I am going to base my analysis here on my primarily on my (very much not expert) knowledge of the British East India Company, but I would hope that these systems could be expanded to also apply to the Dutch VOC, the British South Africa Company, United Fruit, and conceivably dynamically generated company entities. I imagine some of this might be best left on the shelf until investment and nationalism mechanics are properly worked out, but to start mixing in ideas across three broad areas:
Dissolution
It strikes me that company-colonies should have three ways of "ending", the latter two of which represent real crises faced by the East India Company:
- Popular revolt either shattering them or reforming them into the modern, multinational state they now represent (India, Indonesia, etc.). I will leave this aside for the moment because I think it would have to come as part of a broader reform around national revolts, and I am not qualified enough really to talk about nationalist revolts in these places (except to observe that I think it was in part because of the shared resistance to colonial oppression that a coherent notion of many modern states - e.g. India, Ireland - exist).
- Bankruptcy and nationalisation; should the company run out of operating cash through the normal bankruptcy mechanics (e.g. as in 1773 for the EIC), its overlord should receive an option either to bail it out in exchange for some reforms (as happened IRL), or nationalise the company, assuming its debt and angering relevant IGs in both countries. The history is a little messy, but we could also say this is how the EIC IRL failed, becoming much more of a regular administrative entity after the 1833 nationalisation.
- Disgrace (and nationalisation): company rule was controversial even in its own time (Dalrymple in The Anarchy argues that the fear of American colonists of EIC involvement in America was a motivating factor in their independence movement), particularly as the company continued to expand despite parliamentary and popular protest in the UK. This became untenable after the Indian Rebellion of 1857, both because of the cruelty with which the rebellion was suppressed and the realisation that the company struggled to meaningfully exert control over India (India was turned over to direct rule by the British state in 1858 as a consequence). I would make it far easier for company entities to generate infamy and fall into border tussles with their native neighbours, as well as add a suite of infamy generating events representing (e.g.) the various famines caused by heavy taxation, underinvestment in infrastructure and misaligned economic incentives under corporate rule. Active revolts could trigger a ticking "disgrace" meter which is accelerated by high infamy, with the meter timing out resulting in nationalisation. The board game John Company also argues that continuing to pay high dividends might improve the "disgrace" pressure on the company, which certainly seemed to be a factor in the relatively generous terms of the EIC's 1773 bailout - I would model dividends generally as an additional expense the company must pay out to its Board of Directors IG pops (see below), potentially accessed as a new slider/five-button on the budget tab.
Interest groups
I have many, many, many gripes with the interest group system in general (see my signature for a set of rolling rants), but in any event, they are a mischaracterisation of the various pressures faced by colonial companies. In my ideal world, each country would begin with their own well-researched set of individual starting IGs and generate new ones dynamically as the game progressed, and so here is my suggestion for the (largely-undynamic) IGs I think colonial companies could have:
| Name | Description | Eligibility | Further attractions | General political description | Unhappy trait effect | Happy trait effect | Loyal trait effect |
| Board of directors | Shareholders in the company, and their representatives | Either:
| Capitalists + 100 Aristocrats + 50 | Seeks to improve the productive capacity of the country but only insofar as it benefits investors, unconcerned by native rights | Increases dividend payments (an additional tax expense paid to members of this IG) | Greater contribution to investment pool | Reduces dividend payments |
| Metropolitan administrators | Representatives of the company's overlord government | Either:
| Bureaucrat + 200 Aristocrat + 50 Officer + 50 Clerk + 25 | Seeks to maintain control and order, both of the country and the company itself | Increased disgrace generation | Passive increase to overlord opinion | More influence |
| Foreign mercenaries | The central corps of the company's military, pulled from European soldiers-of-fortune | All of:
| Officer +200 Soldier +100 Primary culture and religion of overlord or company + 100 | Jingoism, looting, and keeping native elements out of government and the military | Increased military expenditure | Better combat stats | More immigration from foreign soldiers and officers |
| Companymen | The administrative and commercial ranks of the company, seeking to find their fortune abroad | All of:
| Bureaucrat +100 Capitalist +25 Clerk +200 Engineer +100 Shopkeeper +200 Primary culture and religion of overlord or company + 100 | Trade and meritocratic government for Europeans | Decreased base market access | Increased trade route effiency | More immigration from foreign clerks, engineers and shopkeepers |
| Local Princes | The existing aristocracy and their supporters who the company seeks to exert control through | All of:
| Aristocrat + 400 Clergymen +200 Officer + 100 | Traditional aristocratic rule continuing their power | Increased radical generation | For some reason, not box to the right in the editor? Happy: increased bureaucratic efficiency Loyal: Increased assimilation | |
| Local Regiments | Soldiers recruited from the local population | All of:
| Soldier +200 Officer + 50 | ??? | Increased disgrace/radical generation? | Decreased military expenditure | Higher combat stats |
| Full subjects | Indigenous population who fully interact with the apparatus of company rule | All of:
| Bureaucrat +50 Clerk +50 Shopkeeper +50 More attraction from high SoL, urbanisation and high literacy | Open, meritocratic, modern society. Likely to push for independence movements if angered. | Increased technology costs | For some reason, not box to the right in the editor? Happy: more prestige Loyal: Decreased disgrace generation | |
| Rural traditionalists | Indigenous population largely untouched by company rule | All of:
| Clergymen +100 Famers +200 Laborers +50 | Traditional, agrarian society. Likely to push for independence movements if angered. | Decreased primary industry output | Increased literacy access | Decreased radical generation |
Laws
A number of the laws, governance principles, distribution of power, economic system and trade policy make significantly less sense for a state predicated on its existed as a colonial charter designed to extract value. I would instead propose the following laws:
Governance Structure
| Law | Requirements | Effects | IG support |
| Rule through the Princes: We will pretend to respect existing political structure, exerting our control through the local traditional overlords | +25% Local Princes clout +10% bureaucracy | Foreign mercenaries oppose Companymen oppose Local princes strongly support Local regiments support Rural traditionalists support | |
| Shareholder autonomy: Our investors, and their representatives in the Board of Directors, shall have complete authority in how best to pursue the interests of the company | +25% Board of directors clout +50% investment pool contribution from capitalists and aristocrats +25% disgrace generation | Board of directors strongly support Metropolitan administrators support Foreign mercenaries support Companymen strongly support Local Princes oppose Rural Traditionalists strongly oppose | |
| Metropolitan oversight: We require the oversight of our home government to keep the local population in check, and avoid the worst excesses of company rule | +25% Metropolitan Administrators clout +100 authority +50 influence +10 legitimacy | Board of directors oppose Metropolitan administrators strongly support Foreign mercenaries oppose Local princes oppose Rural traditionalists oppose | |
| Local administration: We will devolve the day-to-day ruling of the company to its local administrators and officers. | +25% Companymen clout +25% bureaucracy +25% disgrace generation | Companymen strongly support Local princes oppose Full subjects support Rural traditionalists oppose |
Economic Focus
| Law | Requirements | Effects | IG support |
| Traditionalism | (As base game) | (As base game) | Board of directors strongly oppose Metropolitan adminstrators strongly oppose Companymen strongly oppose Local Princes strongly support Rural Traditionalists strongly support |
| Agrarian Exploitation: The true wealth of this country is found in its fields and natural resources. Our top priority should be to apply modern techniques for maximum extractive potential. The tea must flow! | Intensive agriculture researched | +25% investment pool contribution from aristocrats and capitalists Similar restrictions to agrarianism on building types | Board of directors support Companymen support Rural traditionalists strongly oppose |
| Trade Nexus: Our ports will form the connective tissue of empire, taking the goods from our colonies back to the metropole. | International trade researched | +25% trade route efficiency +25% convoy production from ports +25% clout from shopkeepers and capitalists +25% investment pool contribution from shopkeepers and capitalists | Board of directors strongly support Metropolitan administrators support Companymen support Rural traditionalists oppose |
| Colonial development: We will embark on the process of developing this land into a modern economy. | Subject overlord does not have any of:
| Same as base game Interventionism | Board of directors support Metropolitan administrators support Foreign mercenaries oppose Companymen oppose Full subjects strongly support Rural traditionalists oppose |
Civil Service Access
| Law | Requirements | Effects | IG Support |
| Exclusive Minority Rule: It is only citizens from our homeland who are fit to rule this country - no native can participate in our colonial project. | Any culture sharing a heritage culture trait and another culture trait with a primary culture is accepted -50% qualifications access for non-accepted cultures Non-accepted pops cannot become officers or bureaucrats | Foreign mercenaries: strongly support Companymen: support Local regiments: oppose Full subjects: strongly oppose | |
| Restricted Access: We will restrict access to senior roles to people who share our background and values; still, the very best of the locals will be eligible to at least apply. | Bureaucracy | Any culture sharing a heritage trait with a primary culture is accepted -25% qualifications access for non-accepted cultures | Companymen: oppose Local regiments: support Full subjects: support |
| Full Participation: Civil service positions and military commissions are open to all on a broadly meritocratic basis. | Bureaucracy, egalitarianism, human rights | Any culture sharing a trait with a primary culture is accepted All religions are accepted | Foreign mercenaries: strongly oppose Companymen: oppose Local regiments: strongly support Full subjects: strongly support |
I would also add an event with a low likelihood of firing that gives cultures largely under company control an additional linguistic trait of their coloniser so that "Full participation" actually functions as intended.
What do you think?
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