Merchant Colony

Merchant Colony

Enables

  • Buildings:

Basic Building Statistics (can be modified by difficulty level, arts, skills, traits and retainers)

  • Cost: 1000
  • +1 experience for ship crew recruits

Clan Effects

  • +3% to trade income (tariffs only)

Description

Where men gather, purses grow fat.

This small mercantile port adds to the trade income of the province, and also provides experienced crews for any vessels constructed here. Trade and piracy are two sides of the same coin: the legitimate and illicit transfer of goods. The colony can be further developed into a wealthy mercantile enterprise, or piracy can be encouraged. The second course of action does not benefit trade, but does provide hardy and extremely experienced crews for newly constructed ships. Piracy was a terrible problem in Japan during the Sengoku Jidai, often crippling trade. There was, of course, a lack of central authority, and the local lords often used pirates to further their own ends, if only by encouraging attacks upon neighbours. On more than one occasion at least one neighbour grew extremely angry: from time to time the Chinese descended on particular pirate havens and dispensed summary justice, tinged with a little outright vengeance!