How beneficial is it to colonize East Africa as Japan?

[AnonMissle]

I have just about finished playing a Japan campaign, but I feel like I didn't conquer enough early on. So I'm starting over again and I want to know if it's worth to colonize East Africa. Last Japan game I played, I just colonized Borneo and a bunch of Pacific Islands, but I never really considered East Africa.

 

[Jorlaan]

It is not the worst place to colonise, I usually get it as Japan. I don't actually remember what kind of resources are there offhand.

 

[Fiftypence]

It's only worth it in order to release dominions for infamy loss tbh.

 

[Will Steel]

That area mostly has no resources that you cannot get anywhere else in the world. You might grab it for some extra goods, or to keep that area off the hands of the Europeans/Ottomans.

 

[Owl Raider]

As mentioned above, colonizing and releasing that area is generally good enough, though if you keep those lands to yourself they'll benefit from your superior technology. Regardless of what you do, colonization is profitable even in the poorest of places, mostly because there's no downside to it. More population, regardless of how much more, leaves you with more people that rely on your local market, which in turn increases the demand for your goods which in turn lets your factories sell more products which in turn lets them make more products which in turn allows you to support more and bigger factories which in turn increases your industrial score and makes your country stronger and wealthier. If the RGOs are utterly crap than there's no downside to releasing those provinces as satellites, if the RGOs are decent, even if they're good luxury goods like Tea and Coffee than you might want to consider keeping those colonies yourself to allow the RGO workers in those provinces to benefit from your superior tech.

 

[PanH]

I found that it has 1 downside, and it's getting occupied during wars with other GPs. Though it won't grant them much warscore.

And Owl, spherlings (and dominions too I guess) benefits to a degree from superior tech, so not everything is lost there.

 

[DrZoidberg]

In my opinion you should try to get as many colonies in Africa as possible with all countries.
It increases prestige and you can make soldiers and navalbases and you will also get money from it.
And most importantly you are not giving up anything by going for colonization, so it is just pure win.

 

[Fiftypence]

In my opinion you should try to get as many colonies in Africa as possible with all countries.
It increases prestige and you can make soldiers and navalbases and you will also get money from it.
And most importantly you are not giving up anything by going for colonization, so it is just pure win.

Prestige from colonising in HoD is negligible. It's only worth going for the highly populated areas with good resources such as Congo and Nigeria IMO

 

[DrZoidberg]

Prestige from colonising in HoD is negligible. It's only worth going for the highly populated areas with good resources such as Congo and Nigeria IMO

It is still a gain for no cost. Even if it is small.

 

[WankoStankins]

There is the cost of microing and time spent getting it all set up. Also researching the colonizing techs just to be able to colonize crappy east africa and some useless pacific islands when you could've researched more useful things.

 

[Owl Raider]

There is the cost of microing and time spent getting it all set up. Also researching the colonizing techs just to be able to colonize crappy east africa and some useless pacific islands when you could've researched more useful things.

Both Nationalism and Imperialism and Machine Guns are key techs regardless of whether or not you colonize. So even when it comes to tech there's no real downside here. Besides, it's not just "crappy east Africa", it's also the amazing part of it which is around the Niger Delta which produces Rubber in the late game which as everyone knows is the key late game resource.

 

[Will Steel]

It is still a gain for no cost. Even if it is small.

There is a cost for maintaining colonies in money, and then they tie up your colonial points which are in fairly limited supply for most nations.

The money problem can be easily fixed with a decent economy though. But not the colonial points one, unless you become a warmonger on your own continent.

 

[Scuzz]

Absolutely. Building naval bases on the Horn of Africa/Kenya lets you sail your fleets right up into the Mediterranean, perfect for taking the fight to the European imperialists. Kenya also produces coffee and has a good population by African standards. There's rubber East/South-East of Lake Victoria, but that's more central Africa.

There is the cost of microing and time spent getting it all set up. Also researching the colonizing techs just to be able to colonize crappy east africa and some useless pacific islands when you could've researched more useful things.

Medicine is the best tech in the game, State and Government (if you rush it) allows you to colonize Hokkaido before the Russians get there. Breech-loaded rifles are a wash, but it is a small price to pay.