questions and observations on trade and economics

[unmerged(36763)]

I'm almost done with my first complete campaignm playing as England. With good stability, I make about 200 ducats a year on yearly taxes.

Now, my question is, if I'm doing OK, how much should I be taking in? I built tax collectors as soom as I could affors them, I and think I have placing merchants down fairly well. I build manufactories, though IMO, they have good effects, but they arent super investments from a purely economic POV. Is there anything else I can do do bring in money?

Trade posts aren't terrible investments. They dont cost much, pay for themselves quickly, and over time bring in a decent profit for all the more they cost. Of course they arent great, but they arent terrible.

I'm thinking maybe I just need to fight and conquer more land to bring in funds. Being my first game and all, I've been reluctant to dive straight in and engage in more than modest war mongering. I'm used to playing Victoria, where the situation is backwards: there colonization is the way to go, and fighting wars for land isn't usually a great idea and costs more than its worth a good deal of the time (because you can only take 3 provinces per war, and you can only go to war against a nation once evry so many years). EU II is the other way around, its good to fight for land, and colonizing is expensive and maybe more trouble than what its worth.

 

[Stonewall]

The only way to significantly increase your yearly census taxes is to take more land. You can do this either by conquest or by colonization. As England you should have an easy easy colonization effort in NA. You can double or triple your census tax income within 50 years with efficient colonization.

Manus are the best single investment you can make in the game. Especially early on when their cost is low. They are long term investments, not short term ones. In the short term, whenever you get a CB on an ai country, use it to loot their provinces and treasury. Especially if they are 1-province minors. Just capture their province, let it sit for a year or two and you can get a vasal and a couple hundred ducats.

Also, with England you should mint 15% worth of inflation by around 1550. You get a combined 15% inflation reduction in 2 events in the mid 1550's and the 1560's. This money should be more than enough to power your colonization, manufactory production, and conversions.

 

[boehm]

Manus are the best single investment you can make in the game. Especially early on when their cost is low. They are long term investments, not short term ones.

Eg. a refinery not only adds 60d of research/year into trade and add 12d (or 6d) of production income...it also gives +1 trade efficiency which is the same as 1/10th of a tradetechlevel....now this might not seem to be much, but trust me optimizing tradeefficiency and getting access to rich CoTs is the way to get RICH RICH RICH in EU2 ...(tradeefficiency not only determines your actual income from merchants, but also how good they are at competing out others and staying in CoTs).

Another way to get rich ofcause is to annex everything in sight! - recommended only on difficulty less than VH unless you are very carefull at how you do it or want to trigger a flood of "badboy"-wars against yourself.