Engalnd route to New World

[unmerged(82265)]

How do I get colonial range as England to start colonizing?

I've got 3 into the exploration idea, but cannot reach the closest province in Greenland. Norway has Reyjavik and is allied with Denmark whom has Sweden in a PU. I could take Norway, Sweden, and Denmark on with my allies, but my allies of Castille, Portugal and Austria don't want to join, so I am scared. I've got France in the PU, but even so. Sweden hurts and I am behind in tech and manpower.

I could start conquering the Ibernain, but I think it would be several wars before I get a core close enough to Portugal to fabricate a claim on their useful islands.

So, what to do to get to the New World?

 

[piccamo]

You could ask Norway for fleet basing rights, though you may need to improve relations first.

 

[Noctus]

Get higher Diplo-Tech. It raises the colonial range.

Also, if you are just missing a bit, get the advisor that raises it. If you have one available.

 

[americanu197]

colonial range rises with dip tech ...otherwise try to take the azores or something from morocco...beating denmark isnt very hard with good ships blocking skagerrak

 

[Yoshijoe]

Newfoundland is probably a bit closer, it was in my Ireland games anyway. Have you explored there yet? If you have and can't reach anything, either war for iceland, get fleet basing rights or wait for dip tech 7.

 

[Alan deLane]

Greenland?? What the heck do want in that cold land ...? Further south, there are the lands of pure riches: wast prairies that you can turn into plantages of tobacco, cotton or sugar (or grain), east of that lies a country of Indians, where even the poorest freeman has lots of Gold, further north are different Indians, wherethe Freemen have lots of Gold too. In Southern Africa, land is comparable to the Mediterrean, and you can use it as station towards the Jewel of Asia, the Land of unimaginable Riches: India. Next to India lie islands that provide those highly precious goods called spices. Beyond are Cathay and Nippon, they might even be richer than India.

So what does Greenland offer? Fish, maybe Ivory or Oil from the Whales? That would be ok. But Africa gives you Ivory too ...

---
Seriously now: conquer the Canaries, hop to Brazil, secure Southern Africa, and get to India/Indonesia. That's my advice. I never felt any desire to colonise Northern America.

Yours,
AdL

 

[MiniaAr]

Get higher Diplo-Tech. It raises the colonial range.

Also, if you are just missing a bit, get the advisor that raises it. If you have one available.

Even with Fleet Basing rights from Norway, you cannot colonise North America with 3 Explo ideas before DIP tech 7. Taking Exploration as your first idea group can be worthwhile only if you are able to get Fleet Basing Rights from Portugal before they take Exploration ideas (which will be their first idea) and start colonising Cape Verde first (you'll probably still need 3 Exploration ideas before doing anything else, and paying Portugal a hfty sum for it).
From there, you could go either to India by colony hopping around Africa: Cape Verde ->Gold Coast->Fernando Po ->Luanda/St Helena ->the Cape etc, or to North America by doing Northern Brazil ->Guiana ->Caribbean ->North America.

I would however recommand taking Exploration as your second idea group instead, as you could benefit more in my view either by starting building up your country to finance the colonisation effort (Economic ideas), or by boosting your military and conquering more province in Europe, for example Flanders (I like Quality ideas personally).

 

[Nightwing]

Greenland?? What the heck do want in that cold land ...? F

A base, from which you can easily hop to Canada and most of the Eastern seaboard.

Also, if you want a really important base to increase your range:Bermuda. It gives access to pretty much all of North America and the Carribean, and from there;South america and all those natives.

 

[grisamentum]

Not as good to colonize Caribbean as England though. The trade power flows to Seville, where you'll have to compete with Spain/Portugal for it. Far better to get everything in the Chesapeake.

 

[Rya]

If you want fastest route to America, explore until you can reach Mexico, roflstomp the Aztecs, make them a vassal, boost relations and ask for fleet basing rights. If you can't because they have not reached the tech for ships, you can still start annexing them 10 years later and have all cores.

 

[Dadvester]

If I'm playing England I wait for a war between Spain and France and nick the canary isles, then take the islands from Portugal. Has the duel purpose of helping you get to the new world while stopping them!

 

[GamingHUD]

If you want fastest route to America, explore until you can reach Mexico, roflstomp the Aztecs, make them a vassal, boost relations and ask for fleet basing rights. If you can't because they have not reached the tech for ships, you can still start annexing them 10 years later and have all cores.

With the overseas penalty to annexing vassals can you still finish annexing them before you would normally arrive anyway?

 

[Rya]

With the overseas penalty to annexing vassals can you still finish annexing them before you would normally arrive anyway?

Considering that you can get Exploration's second idea and thus explorers around 1450 (well maybe not as England, thanks Henry!), find Aztecs or Creek a few trips later and cancel out the overseas penalty with a statesman, it takes just a bit longer than before but is still possible. At least if your monarch isn't a total diplomatic moron...
A "normal" England would have to spend DIP for tech AND ideas to reach America, combined with a terrible start monarch that usually lives far too long it sets England back quite a bit. Of course if you wait a bit longer, the natives should get ship tech sometime around 1500? Fleet basing rights and you don't need colonial range AT ALL.

 

[Katarian]

Not as good to colonize Caribbean as England though. The trade power flows to Seville, where you'll have to compete with Spain/Portugal for it. Far better to get everything in the Chesapeake.

Colonizing as much of the Caribbean and Ivory Coast is vital if not mandatory as England. You need the trade power there to steer as much as possible up to Chesapeake to deny it to the Portuguese and Spanish if nothing else.

 

[GamingHUD]

Considering that you can get Exploration's second idea and thus explorers around 1450 (well maybe not as England, thanks Henry!), find Aztecs or Creek a few trips later and cancel out the overseas penalty with a statesman, it takes just a bit longer than before but is still possible. At least if your monarch isn't a total diplomatic moron...
A "normal" England would have to spend DIP for tech AND ideas to reach America, combined with a terrible start monarch that usually lives far too long it sets England back quite a bit. Of course if you wait a bit longer, the natives should get ship tech sometime around 1500? Fleet basing rights and you don't need colonial range AT ALL.

Sounds promising, aside from everyone's favourite Henry. If I find the time tomorrow, I might start an England game up. It'll be nice to get to the Caribbean without having to knock Portugal/Castille/both over the head.

 

[grisamentum]

Colonizing as much of the Caribbean and Ivory Coast is vital if not mandatory as England. You need the trade power there to steer as much as possible up to Chesapeake to deny it to the Portuguese and Spanish if nothing else.

Sounds great in theory but you only have so many colonists. Trade power you generate in the Chesapeake is more valuable to you than trade power you generate in the Caribbean. You can't afford to waste a bunch of light ships in the Caribbean when you already have to fight everyone on the continent to keep trade in London instead of having it sent to Antwerp.

If you could literally colonize the entire Caribbean before the AI then yes, it would be great to just ship it up to Chesapeake. But then Spain will inevitably steal a bunch of Chesapeake colonies from you anyway.

 

[Katarian]

Sounds great in theory but you only have so many colonists. Trade power you generate in the Chesapeake is more valuable to you than trade power you generate in the Caribbean. You can't afford to waste a bunch of light ships in the Caribbean when you already have to fight everyone on the continent to keep trade in London instead of having it sent to Antwerp.

I've never had trouble having enough light ships to dominate London, the Caribbean, Chesapeake, Ivory Coast, basically anywhere I wanted trade power even without taking the Naval Ideas to get increased force limits. Or that much trouble taking 1/4-1/2 of the Caribbean and getting 9/10 of the Chesapeake node colonised even when waiting until my third Idea Group to take Exploration. Getting Chesapeake colonies is important, but being able to dominate the Caribbean and Ivory Coast means you can steal the Portuguese and Spanish trade. More money means you can move your limited number of colonists around and grab land faster then the other colonising nations.

 

[grisamentum]

I've never had trouble having enough light ships to dominate London, the Caribbean, Chesapeake, Ivory Coast, basically anywhere I wanted trade power even without taking the Naval Ideas to get increased force limits. Or that much trouble taking 1/4-1/2 of the Caribbean and getting 9/10 of the Chesapeake node colonised even when waiting until my third Idea Group to take Exploration. Getting Chesapeake colonies is important, but being able to dominate the Caribbean and Ivory Coast means you can steal the Portuguese and Spanish trade. More money means you can move your limited number of colonists around and grab land faster then the other colonising nations.

I think we basically agree because that's the same thing I would do. But not focus on taking 9/10 of the Caribbean and end up with 1/4-1/2 Chesapeake, which is my point. (Of course AI England always does this.)

 

[trevi2]

The best way doing this is that if you still count with Labourd go to "Rio de Oro" the first province below Morocco, from there go to Cabo Verde or perhaps the corner of Brasil with Pernambuco, always coring