I've been reading a lot of the older threads here, and I found one where people were saying that the only reason for any country to stay Catholic is "historical accuracy." Well, I've discovered a potent reason for France not only to stay Catholic, but to convert to CRC: it will allow you to seriously impede English colonization, especially in North America.
French colonial dynamism, when it starts anyway, is only 1 colonist/year. A few years later is the Council of Trent, so converting will double your supply of colonists. But the real benefit is even greater. By this time, there are sure to be a couple of English TPs blocking your colonization plans in Canada. Since AI England is usually Reformed(+2 colonists) and they get better colonial dynamism, there looks like little chance to compete. Unless you take advantage of CRC's CB against Protestants (assuming you already have Calais) and DoW England, burn their TPs, and FORCE-CONVERT THEM! That's the most important thing, as it takes away their Reformed colonist bonus. Then they have to convert twice to get back to reformed, and will be too busy dealing with low stab and rebellions to colonize much for a long time. I only had to capture Anglia and Lincoln to force-convert too (but then invading England is WAY too easy).
French colonial dynamism, when it starts anyway, is only 1 colonist/year. A few years later is the Council of Trent, so converting will double your supply of colonists. But the real benefit is even greater. By this time, there are sure to be a couple of English TPs blocking your colonization plans in Canada. Since AI England is usually Reformed(+2 colonists) and they get better colonial dynamism, there looks like little chance to compete. Unless you take advantage of CRC's CB against Protestants (assuming you already have Calais) and DoW England, burn their TPs, and FORCE-CONVERT THEM! That's the most important thing, as it takes away their Reformed colonist bonus. Then they have to convert twice to get back to reformed, and will be too busy dealing with low stab and rebellions to colonize much for a long time. I only had to capture Anglia and Lincoln to force-convert too (but then invading England is WAY too easy).
