| Political Founding Fathers | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trade | Exploration | Military | Political | Religious | Sent in Tips |
Bolivar is one of the best leaders, particularly at higher game levels. He usually means colonies will go up one level in efficiency immediately. This has the benefit of allowing higher populations and increased production, one liability is the King will probably raise the tax rate significantly because of the increased disloyalty.
I NEVER select Franklin. The effect he has is to stop the Kings wars being extended to the new world. However I find wars useful as the King will give you some money and veteran soldiers to help you fight it, also it will force you to kerb the power of your neighbours which you might otherwise put of for too long making you dangerously weak. Unpredictable wars also make the game more intrusting. If you try to stay at peace with the other powers then you can expect to gain a lot of troops and money from such wars. The troops arrive at the docks in Europe, it is a good idea to equip them with horses there as horses are always in short supply in the new world, also remember to select the 'board next ship' command or they will remain in Europe forever! The only reason to select him is if your neighbours are very strong, but in that case they will probably attack you on their own anyway. It should be noted that once a nation becomes independent the King will no longer be able to initiate wars anyway. Franklin also forces Europeans to offers peace and at a decreased cost.
Another point to consider is when foreign privateers start blockading your colonies and you have no Navy of your own the King may offer you a Frigate for defence. Some fans seem to think that the offer is only made or more likely to be made when the King is at war with another European power. I am unsure about this point but you may wish to consider this when choosing Benjamin Franklin to join your congress.
"Benjamin Franklin, an American living in Philadelphia, thought it likely that lightning originated from electrically charged clouds, and in 1750 proposed to fix a kind of sentry box on the steeple of a new church, with a pointed metal rod passing out of the top of the box. Inside the box, a man on an insulated stool would be in contact with the rod. But the building of the church was delayed, so he decided instead to fly a kite up towards the thundercloud, and he found that the wet string did conduct enough electricity from the cloud to charge a large capacitor. These early electricians, as they were called, must have been men of considerable courage, because the devastating power of a lightning strike had been evident from the earliest times, and a number of them did in fact lose their lives during this period. But from these experiments the idea of fixing lightning conductors to buildings arose."
Jefferson is probably the best leader. He increases liberty bell production by 50%, which means more leaders faster and more productive colonies. He also made the Louisiana Purchase from Napoleon, which doubled the size of the United States.
Paine increases liberty bell production by the current tax rate, so he can be more useful than Jefferson as the tax rate can go as high as 75%! You should only select him when the tax rate has got to about 25%, there will be other more useful leaders to select first. It should be noted that due to a bug in the program the tax rate does not stay at 75% forever but starts jumping around after a few more tax 'rises' and can go as low as 25% again.
Always select Pocahontas when available. She returns all Indian villages to a calm state and reduces increase in anger by 50%. The Indians can get upset very easily, particularly when you have big colonies near them, use land surrounding their villages or build roads and plow forests. Indian co-operation is essential as they will only teach you their valuable skills and give lots of gifts when calm. If angry they will be forever attacking your people and colonies which can cause a lot of damage, also your pioneers will have difficulty operating.
The French are given the ability of making the Indians unhappy at half the rate of other European powers. Pocahontas makes all Indian villages content when she joins congress AND has the ability of making the Indians unhappy at half the previous rate. So if you are both French AND have Pocahontas in Congress Indians only become unhappy at one quarter of the normal rate. I find Pocahontas alone is enough, especially as other European powers have good abilities, so never choose to be French. You should also found missions in near by Indian villages and trade with particularly unhappy villages, they like Muskets, Horses and Manufactured goods most. This will make them happy so they will both not attack you and be better armed and so will attack your enemies.