Mercantilism and Portugal

[Sandmann]

I started a game as Portugal and noticed that it starts with a +4 mercantilism slider setting, I only played one mercantilism game with England where I wasn't able to compete in any CoT's outside my own. So I wonder what can I do, do I have to play 100 years before mercantilism really pays off? Because I wont be able to compete in the european CoTs in the start and it wont come close to the profit of free trade in the first 100 years. I will go for all of the world but Europe and take CoTs outside Europe but isn't there anything else to do really? Thanks

 

[Hamalcar Barca]

Put slider moves into free trade and hope for some of those random events that allow you to move towards free trade. I mean, Portugal is set up decently well for mercantilism, with it's own starting COT and stuff. It'll take forever for it to be profitable, as you say, and the only two alternatives are ignoring trade completely or moving towards free trade.

 

[The Blood Eagle]

It's done that way to keep others out of your CoT. The idea is to get colonizing as fast as possible and inflate Lisbon's value - rather than to expand your merchants into other CoTs. Same holds true for the Hansa and Venice.

 

[unmerged(204522)]

portugal starts the campaign with the 2nd best navy-use it to conquer every CoT in the mediterranean, especially andalucia-you now have the money to unite iberia and conquer the new world.

 

[Ryuujin95]

portugal starts the campaign with the 2nd best navy-use it to conquer every CoT in the mediterranean, especially andalucia-you now have the money to unite iberia and conquer the new world.

The CoT provinces are valuable in and of themselves, but conquering them won't do much to help you trade in them unless you're employing the obvious strategy of conquering everything in sight.

Stick with Merc for Portugal. It'll be 100 years before it starts to pay off, but it'll be just as long to get FT up and running, and you miss out on a lot of Centralization slider moves.

 

[brifbates]

I'd have to vote with the stick with merc side as well. Take Andalucia, torch one of the two CoTs (if Lisboa hasn't already closed due to being worthless + out of range in early game). Expand through conquering stuff in Africa (eating the colonizers through PUs is never a bad idea either), grab the new world, especially the CoT there, keep expanding, and dominate trade in 2 filthy rich CoTs, 3 if you decide to head into Asia as well. ..

 

[Dotto1979]

Join Novgorod's trade league. You will start earning loads of ducats and it will finace your colonization. You just need to keep your infamy equal or below theirs and you will use their compete chance.

 

[The-King]

Join Novgorod's trade league. You will start earning loads of ducats and it will finace your colonization. You just need to keep your infamy equal or below theirs and you will use their compete chance.

How does joining Novgorod's trade league help?

 

[Dorevai]

Perhaps he'll gain the trade capacity of Novgorod so long as his infamy stays below Novgorod's. Before they changed it we used to join trade leagues just to benefit from their trade tech. Now you have to be under their infamy level to get the effect, and they rarely have any infamy.

 

[smellymummy]

what exactly do you gain form the trade league leader's trade tech when you join the league, their trade efficiency?

 

[alexti]

what exactly do you gain form the trade league leader's trade tech when you join the league, their trade efficiency?

You get to compete with their competition rating and Novgorod is the only FT (+3 I think) merchant republic.

 

[smellymummy]

so in other words, when competing in novgorod you enjoy all the benfits of non competition with others in the trade league in that COT, plus you get novgorods FT bonus when competing against merchants not in novgorods league? unlikely, but is this bonus also given to you for other COTs

 

[safferli]

so in other words, when competing in novgorod you enjoy all the benfits of non competition with others in the trade league in that COT, plus you get novgorods FT bonus when competing against merchants not in novgorods league? unlikely, but is this bonus also given to you for other COTs

As long as your infamy is that of the trade league leader, you Erik be able to use his compete chances in any CoT.

 

[unmerged(204522)]

The CoT provinces are valuable in and of themselves, but conquering them won't do much to help you trade in them unless you're employing the obvious strategy of conquering everything in sight.

Stick with Merc for Portugal. It'll be 100 years before it starts to pay off, but it'll be just as long to get FT up and running, and you miss out on a lot of Centralization slider moves.

at +4 mercantile, he has no chance to trade in venice-he conquers venice, he now has +48% to his compete chance-problem solved.