Quote Originally Posted by andrewt View Post
I'm on turn 60+ now on my Dutch campaign and I've been browsing some other guides here. I'm wondering if cancelling trade with the Mughals on turn 1 and trading with another country is a good idea. They and the Maratha keep blockading each other's ports. Eventually, it seems the Maratha win this contest usually and end up conquering the Mughals' home province.

Right now in my game, I'm still "trading" with the Mughals. We have an agreement and I'm gaining rep with them but we haven't really traded for 30+, maybe 40+ turns ever since their port got captured.

Also, I started trading with Westphalia and Hannover on roughly turn 5 or so and had to bribe them for it. Should've done it on turn 1.
I attacked the Mughal in the 1710s and traded with the Maratha -- the Mughal only have two ports, but some juicy resources in Punjab and Hindustan. The Maratha are more developed though, and I saw a big trade uptick after befriending them by destroying several of their enemy's armies. You need to get Carnatica to win, however, so if you don't want to buy it for 200,000 later on, it's a good place to attack early without dealing with European alliances.