Turn off combat?

[Kronk's Shoulder Angel]

I thought i already turned combat off, but apperently now (17 hours into a savegame), the religious chick Marie declares war against me. Is there a way to turn it off before starting a game and is there a way to turn it off while in a game?

I didn't build any defensive units, so she will pretty much plunder all my ships and destroy my cities! Sucks since i've gotten so far into the game :(

[Ishbane]

The only way to avoid combat is playing without enemy players or Leif only.

Rivals usually declare war on you when you've settled down on an island they desire.

[Kronk's Shoulder Angel]

Oh well, i guess the only thing i can do now is to build war ships.

[dsfsdjh]

I am playing the anno 1404 again and was searching for some info and I´ve got here. Not what I was looking for, but I can answer your question. I have learned the easy strategies that will get you through the game with 8,000 + gold coins of income and not a single war on the hardest settings.

How do you prevent a war? Do not settle on the islands belonging to other players. Do not settle on two biggest oriental islands at start since someone will want one and can lead to war.

Give compliments to players when chances are good and you need to increase the reputation.

Always be first in civilization progression and everyone will respect you, otherwise they will see you are week and will attack you. It is enough to progress one house only so that you get one step higher and then stop further progression until you are ready.

Go to Al Zahir's warehouse and buy "forced peace treaty" coins for 100 honor that force a peace with any player for 15 minutes and do that if necessary as many times as you want - there is no limit.

Maybe these are only the things that are true in the Dawn of Discovery, and not in the original game. I never played the original one so I do not know.