[Top 10] Europa Universalis IV Best Colonies To Own

Europa Universalis is a game set in the Age of Exploration, a time when European sailors sailed the seven seas in search of new lands to explore, trade with or conquer. There are many areas that a European colonizer would potentially have their eyes on for colonizing, and this list will help anyone with making that choice. It will vary between smaller provinces, and larger, general regions depending on their usefulness.

10. Panama

The Panama is that narrow isthmus connecting North and South America together, and it gives its name to the modern country that occupies it. It is home to the very famous Panama Canal in our modern world, which is a crucial bottleneck for international trade. In Europa Universalis IV, a player can take advantage of this too.

The Panama Canal might come late in the game, but it gives immense prowess to the nation that builds it. Huge amounts of trade power in the node, and the ability to easily juke hostile navies back and forth between it, while they will have to travel the entire length around South America. It does have low development, however, and since it is built so late, it might not be ultimately necessary, which is why it takes the 10th spot.

Why Panama is great

• A chokepoint between North and South America, allowing one to easily control traffic between them.
• A center of trade that gives great power in the trade node.
• The ability to build the Panama Canal and have potentially exclusive rights to use it. 

Choose Panama If

• You have a potential late game plan in mind that involves doing battle with other powerful navies in the New World.
• You want immense power in the Panama and Caribbean Trade Nodes.
• You want to connect colonies in Central and South America.

9. Zanzibar

Zanzibar is a small group of islands off the Swahili coast and commands a strong position between Africa and India. 

Zanzibar and the Swahili coast are one of many bottlenecks for trade coming from Asia and into Europe. While not as important as some of the other bottlenecks, it ultimately is very significant in that at any point, trade could be stopped and assets seized. Zanzibar is in the best position on the Swahili coast for a European colony due to it being an island that will be easily defended by the superior navies that European nations can bring to bear.

Why Zanzibar is great

• It is a set of easily defended islands on the way from Africa to India.
• The province is a center of trade on a bottleneck of valuable trade from the Far East.
• Easy access to the large amount of gold on the Swahili Coast.

Choose Zanzibar If

• You want an easily defended naval base on the eastern coast of Africa.
• You want a potential staging ground for further campaigns into Africa or the Indian Ocean.
• You want to dominate trade all along the route to the Far East.

8. Ceylon

Ceylon, or Sri Lanka, as the modern country that exists on it is called, is a large island off the southern coast of India. During the age of colonialism, the island was first conquered by the Portuguese, then seized by the Dutch, and finally by the British.

Ceylon is just off the southern coast of India, and is perhaps the most valuable region of India that a colonizer could get their hands on. As an island, so long as the European who controls it maintains naval supremacy, it is completely safe, and it contains two centers of trade to allow the nation to easily divert trade in the direction they want. 

Why Ceylon is great

• It is an easily defended island in the Indian Ocean.
• It allows a colonizer to have significant trade power in southern India.
• It is a great staging ground for further invasions into Africa.

Choose Ceylon If

• You want an easily defended naval base on the southern coast of India.
• You want to begin diverting trade away from India and towards your own lands.
• A somewhat decently developed region.

7. Aden

Aden is a region that covers modern day Eritrea, Somalia, and Yemen, and has historically seen many rulers during this time period. From the Ottomans to the British, this point has been something of a precursor to the Suez Canal.

Aden is a hugely important trade node that determines just how the trade from the Far East hits Europe. The trade can either go further up the Red Sea and into Egypt and the Mediterranean, or it could be diverted south to Zanzibar, where a player could subvert those Mediterranean states entirely and bring it straight to their countries.

Why Aden is great

• It is a rather wealthy region in terms of development.
• It allows a colonizing power to deny trade to nations in the Mediterranean.
• It is a great staging ground for further invasions into Africa.

Choose Aden If

• You want to deny trade to the Mediterranean.
• You want to have full control of the trade heading westward from India.
• You want some highly developed land that can produce a chunk of money on its own.

6. Malacca

Malacca sits in what is modern day Malaysia, and the region itself also covers the city state of Singapore. And just like today, Malacca was a hub of commerce and trade.

The Malacca region is another huge bottleneck for trade in Asia. Though this doesn’t cover India, all trade from China, Indonesia, and Japan going to Europe will have to pass through this node. And those three will make up a huge amount of trade income for whoever gets their hands on it. 

Why Malacca is great

• It sits on one of two critical bottlenecks for trade from East Asia to Europe.
• A rather large amount of development on its own.
• Excellent position between India, Indonesia and China/Japan.

Choose Malacca If

• You want to control the trade from East Asia to Europe.
• You want lands with significant development of their own.
• You want easy access to Indonesia for further conquests.

5. Peru/Bolivia

Peru and Bolivia were the homes of the old Incan Empire, a powerful native state that was ultimately conquered by the Spanish. A huge moneymaker for their empire, the gold and silver mines here were heavily responsible for the huge inflation that ultimately doomed the Spanish Empire. A player can easily avoid this fate, however.

While the other regions discussed so far have been talked up due to their strong positions for trade, Peru and Bolivia have miserable positions for trade. However, what they do have is an insane amount of gold and wealthy land for a player to get their hands on. Huge amounts of tariffs from a colonial nation or the large number of ships ferrying gold over. 

Why Peru/Bolivia is great

• It is isolated, and quite safe from enemies once conquered.
• The region has a huge amount of gold and other valuable resources like cloth and cocoa.
• The natives guarding it will be weak and primitive, making them very easy to conquer.

Choose Peru/Bolivia If

• You want to have a large amount of gold shipments coming in to feed your country.
• You want a strong colonial nation to provide tariffs and potential support in colonial conflicts.
• You want a significant amount of development for your country.

4. Spice Islands

The spice islands cover modern day Indonesia, the eastern half of Malaysia, and Brunei. A hugely valuable piece of land due to the production of what they are named after, spice. A land that the British eventually failed to colonize and was almost entirely taken over by the Dutch.

The Spice Islands are loaded with development and have huge production potential for a player to exploit. Its trade location isn’t particularly strong, as everything is rather controlled by Malacca or feeds exclusively into it. You take this land for the huge amount of production you can get from it.

Why the Spice Islands are great

• It is isolated, and quite safe from enemies once conquered.
• The region has a huge amount of valuable trade goods for huge profits.
• The countries are usually quite weak and divided, making them simple to conquer.

Choose the Spice Islands If

• You want a strong region of control between India and China.
• You want a huge amount of production income directly.
• You want to add an enormous amount of development to your country.

3. Mexico

Mexico was home to Aztec, Nahua people and the Maya. The region has seen many native empires in its day, which were all ended when the Spanish conquered the Aztecs and established their colony in New Spain. 

Mexico is like a beefed up version of Peru/Bolivia in this game. The tradable resources in the region are absurdly valuable, with a huge amount of gold, sugar and cocoa that give it all insane production income. With the natives being primitive, a player should easily be able to conquer the entire region and get huge amounts of income in the form of tariffs from the colonial nation and gold shipments.

Why Mexico is great

• The region is loaded with a huge amount of gold and other valuable resources.
• The natives are perpetually divided, weak, and easy to conquer.
• It can form the basis of a strong colonial nation.

Choose Mexico If

• You want a huge amount of gold shipments coming into your empire.
• You want a powerful colonial nation to aid in further colonial conquests.
• You want to have a large amount of development in a subject nation.

2. The Cape

The Cape is in modern day South Africa, and was originally colonized by the Dutch, where the Boer population comes from. Later, however, the British seized the region from them during the Napoleonic Wars.

The Cape is in a very interesting position in terms of world trade. This region sits on perhaps the most overlooked bottleneck in movement of trade between Asia, Eastern Africa, and Europe. While most simply overlook it as a place where trade simply passes over, in reality it can be used to drain trade just for yourself. With only one center of trade, whoever grabs it can collect trade directly here, while everyone else pulls it towards West Africa since it can only go in one direction, and they will lack the trade power to collect here themselves. 

Why the Cape is great

• The region sits perfectly between Europe and Asia, allowing easy access to both. 
• It sits on an overlooked bottleneck, allowing a player to easily siphon off the trade coming from Asia for themselves. 
• An excellent source of development for the player.

Choose the Cape If

• You want to hoard all the trade from Asia for yourself.
• You want a powerbase for your pushes east.
• You want access to some potential goldmines.

1. The Caribbean

The Caribbean is home to far too many modern nations to count among its many islands. Colonized by the Spanish intensively, it was then later heavily split up amongst the Spanish, British and French after Spain lost significant portions of it to those other two nations.

The Caribbean sits on a huge chokepoint for trade in the New World, with most of it feeding into these regions. Furthermore, because it is a collection of islands, anyone with naval superiority could dominate them and exploit the large amount of development and tariffs that they can provide a player.

Why the Caribbean is great

• A high amount of development and good production goods for a colonial nation to feed tariffs tot heir overlord.
• Safety among the many islands in the region with naval supremacy.
• A strong trade node that funnels a lot of the trade in the New World to wherever the colonizers want.

Choose the Caribbean If

• You want to have one of the most powerful colonial nations in the New World.
• You want a colonial nation that can feed you a large amount of tariffs.
• You want a powerful trade node under your full control.

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