How do you keep colonies from rebelling?

[Rikashey]

It's something that I always struggle with even when I only have 1 really rich colony.

In my Spain game I developed my own provinces, was rich and powerful yet I still ended up getting a rebellious colony and if you have multiple colonies they are even more rebellious.

[tinisiyo]

Mostly i dont care about colonies but if i need their loyalty I build forts for them anf then repay their loans.

[kaiyl_kariashi]

the number of colonies you have doesn't matter. They only ever compare your relative strength to yours unless they agree to support each other's independance...and if they get that strong you've already done something very wrong).


Two...never develop provinces. It's horribly inefficient as a means of gaining development. Expand and conquer. keep your troop count high.


Don't blow up your colonies too quickly.

If you plan to rush for 10 provinces (there no real reason to unless you've got a trade network already that can use the extra merchants), then you'll likely to want to control most of north Africa (and probably murder Portugal for their share of Sevilla and to reduce the colonial competition) and split your colonizing efforts between colonies and trade-company regions. (as well as jumping on France if a good opperunity arises and try to take over the Genoa trade node unless you're going deep colonizer)

trade company regions (regardless of whether you have WoN or not) will increase your personal power and wealth (though most of it will be in trade income), also beat the crap out of the filithy natives in those regions for extra income. Making extra colonies in the same colonial region doesn't really help you much and can hurt you.

It's better to make a bunch of colonies (5 provinces each) and let them expand on their own while you just keep buttering up to them, and expanding your personal power in other regions.

I tend to get mine to 5 and then let them expand on their own unless I'm sniping centers of trade for them.

once you've locked down trade in Africa, india, and asia, you should be big enough and in need of merchants enough, that you'll want to help push them all to 10 provinces. But never help beyond 10.


you want to be strong enough that even with agitate for liberty won't put a dent in their liberty desire.