United Provinces

[Fisherking]

If the French go to war with you then use it to take French Guiana and the spice production there.

The Windward Islands are more of a hassle than they are worth until you manage to get the Pirate Faction in hand.

Westphalia is a good bet but it will usually mean you are also at war with Hanover.

If France always declares war on turn 2 chances are you are on one of the upper difficulty ratings. You may want to ease off on that a bit until you have a better feel for how to manage that faction.

You have to expand elsewhere to afford your troops and navy. You also have to protect your trade spots form pirates.

Put together a good government and check your minister positions to make sure you are getting the most out of who you have.

There is more than one way to handle the faction so you will need to experiment and see what fits your play style.

Good Luck!

[jawalla]

I always take guyana but should i next take the pirate islands or should i take cuba/hispaniola?

[Fisherking]

That depends on how good you are at naval combat and if you are at war with Spain already.

If you and Spain are fighting then grab what you want and take out the Pirates later. Just don’t wait to long if you want those islands. Someone else may want them too.

[Antioch]

Fighting pirates is always a priority if you want to trade with a chance of benefit .
Capture the two pirates regions is a good strategy then you have a military harbour in caraibean sea for free .

[rvg]

Recently I took a crack at playing as the Dutch, here are some of my thoughts...

Hard Campaign, Medium Battles.

The Pros:
1. Republic! More income + faster research is a great combination. The Dutch REALLY benefit from the enlightenment tech.
2. Alliance with Britain. This is huge, the Anglo-Dutch tandem is guaranteed to go head to head vs the Franco-Spanish alliance. It's very good to be on the same side as the Brits.
3. Access to India. Unlike the New World, India is fabulously wealthy. Staking your claim on the subcontinent early on means access to resources, schools and a tax base.
4. Fluyts. While not as domineering as Spanish Galleons, these still get the job done. It still makes more sense to park regular merchant ships on trading nodes, but early on the ability to construct combatworthy ships out of trade ports is invaluable.

The Cons:
1. Your position in Europe is EXTREMELY weak. You are totally dependent on trade, which makes lots of scenarios lethal to the Dutch Republic. For example:
Your capital gets sieged for one turn == Loss of trade income == Bankruptcy == Death.
Your trade port gets blockaded/invaded == Loss of trade income == Bankruptcy == Death.
Because of these vulnerabilities it is absolutely paramount to make sure that the Netherlands are adequately protected both on land and at sea.

2. You are totally dependent on trade since your tax base at least initially is virtually non-existent.

3. France and Spain are rich, powerful, allied with one another, right on your doorstep, and absolutely adamant about eliminating you. You do not need to seek out wars in Europe as wars will find you and very soon. Because of that taking Belgium too early becomes a very risky proposition. Generally it is best to avoid expanding in Europe if the expansion means lowering the defenses in the Netherlands. All it takes is one turn to bring the republic to its knees if the appropriate safety measures are not taken.


Suggested strategy:

1. First turn.
Consolidate what you have: Curacao is a sitting duck, so sell it before the Spanish take it away from you. You'll get it back eventually but for now it's a liability. Dutch Guyana is on the contrary a launchpad for invading French Guyana, so queue up some native warriors to get ready for the inevitable war with France (usually starting on turn 2). Send all of your American Navy to Europe. NOW. Not the next turn, not after you crush that pirate fleet, NOW. It's THAT important because of the unique Dutch weaknesses.
On the Indian front queue up some Sepoys in Ceylon and prepare to invade Mysore. India is your meal ticket, the earlier you cash in on that, the better.
In Europe take all of your ragtag Army in the Netherlands (with all the obsolete pikes and old school artillery) minus one general, load them up on a single ship and send them to India. They'll be invaluable in the invasion of Mysore. Immediately queue up as much line infantry as the Netherlands could produce (I think 3). Yes, France will declare war the next turn, but it will take them a few turns to create an invasion force and move it into Belgium. By then you should have a full stack deterrent force ready to repel any aggression against the republic.
Sign overland trade treaties and alliances with your immediate neighbors (Hannover and Westphalia). Trade will bring you much needed cash and alliances will mean that they won't backstab you at the most inconvenient moment. Speaking of alliances, they exist primarily to make sure that you don't get sneak attacked, NOT to aid you in wars. In fact, when attacked by France I do not call on my allies to help, since most of them will break the alliance instead. Likewise, when your other ally Austria gets attacked it's best to give them the finger, they're far away and their problems are not your problems. Let them fend for themselves.
I would also recommend replacing your one industrial building in the Netherlands with a second school. Research is crucial. You won't lose much in tax base anyway since the bulk of your taxes will be coming from India.

2. Long term strategy.
As for the rest of the game, invade Mysore as soon as your expeditionary force arrives from Europe (combine it with the Sepoys from Ceylon), hold your ground in the European and American theaters ( except for taking French Guyana), and play the India card to the max. With half a dozen Indian provinces under your belt you will feel far more secure and able to pursue other goals (such as expanding in Europe a bit). Speaking of the European expansion, you desperately need a drydock. Denmark becomes the perfect candidate for that after it gets whipped by the Swedes. Take Iceland and turn it into your naval base. It's far enough away from everyone as to not require any protection, but close enough to supply you with the much needed ships of the line.

Hope this helps.