Economic Domination

[Miracle]

I think GB has an advantage early on.

No kidding. Their home region is on an unified island un-invadable by the AI, they get a Dockyard, and they're in good position to conquer the Pirates and squat on the Ivory Coast. They have two strong allies/trading partners available and aren't overextended.

I just played as the Ottomans and it's a world of difference in terms of early game troubles. By turn 5 four factions declared war on me (on top of Russia) and my trade routes were blockaded left and right. The Ottoman early game units are mostly rubbish and the tax income isn't great. The starting leader is horrid. There are lots of land invasion routes to defend and massive amounts of land area to cover. On the plus side, you get hand mortars later on which are pretty awesome. Overall it's a faction for land warriors who want a challenge and not bean counters with fancy ships.