Help with Trade

[Torqemada]

I've been lurking on the boards for awhile trying to glean as much information as possible. So far my conquests have been going fairly well. Recently I have encountered a problem that I find very frustrating.
I am in the year 1196 playing as the Spanish from early on expert with an unpatched version. I haven't patched because I heard that the Jinettes got nerfed, and they are fun to use. My problem is I can't seem to get trade going. I have a number of provences with ports, with merchant guilds, connected to others by a link of Portugese caravels, but my trade income hasen't gone up. When I click on the port it says its making 0 florins.

Do I need more than 1 ship to control a sea territory?

What level of merchant shop do I need to start sea trade?

Do I need a particular level of ship to control the sea?

Can I only trade with allies? or are neutrals and my provences open for trade?

If it's a question of patching I'd rather have more money than tougher Jinnettes, especially since my Knights are coming online.
Oh I have lines of ships running from portugaul to egypt and rome all along the coast.

[Kekvit Irae]

1. You near a port and (at least) a trading post.
2. You need an unbroken line of ships running from Port A to Port B. If you are at war with a country, they can disrupt your trade convoy by sending a ship into your trade lanes, known as blockading.
3. You may only trade with allies or neutrals. You may not trade with yourself or enemies.
4. You may only trade with someone who doesnt already have the resource you are selling. You get no money when Port A is selling wool to Port B, whom already has wool.
5. It does not matter what type of ships or how many you use to do this with, but they all must be YOUR ships.

[Torqemada]

Thanks Kekvitrae. I did not know that trade can not go on between two provinces with the same goods.

[Kekvit Irae]

Quote[/b] (Torqemada @ Mar. 18 2004,17:26)]Thanks Kekvitrae. I did not know that trade can not go on between two provinces with the same goods.

Not a problem. It's pretty commonplace that trade is mearly selling what you have to someone that needs it. This is why Antioch is such a valuable province once Marco Polo arrives. Almost no other province will have the same goods, and you can rake in massive profits using it.

[Torqemada]

The goods available for trade can change?

[Cebei]

So what happens when you got ships in all of the waters? Trade with everybody?

[Kekvit Irae]

Quote[/b] (Torqemada @ Mar. 18 2004,17:43)]The goods available for trade can change?

Only on certain events, like Marco Polo's return.

[Kekvit Irae]

Quote[/b] (Cebei @ Mar. 18 2004,17:45)]So what happens when you got ships in all of the waters? Trade with everybody?

Essentially, yes.

[ichi]

Press down the V key - sea regions that you control (or share with allies or neutrals) will show as green - seas with enemy fleets in them show red.

Any province where you have a port and a trading post/merchant that is connected by an unbroken series of green sea regions to an allied or neutral province with a port and trade goods will start making florins.

Click on the florins/economy icon in the lower left corner. This brings up a list of provinces and their income -click on the name of a province on the list that has a port and trader building - this will bring up a panel that shows the trade that province is engaged in.

Remember that the maintenance/support costs of ships rises with distance from one of your ports. It only rarely makes sense to have a ship in a distant sea region if you have enemy ships blocking a closer sea region. or if your line if ships is broken.

ichi

[Malcolm Big Head]

I tend to sink any opposing ship that is neutral and I share a sea with if I don't share a land border with them. The next round they are still neutral so I can still trade with them. Are there any negatives to this policy?

[Qilue]

Yes.

Trading is a two-way deal. You make money selling your goods to them and they make money from import duties on those goods.

Now if they have an unbroken line of ships to you, then the oposite is true in they make money from the trade and you get a small amount from taxes.

[bighairyman]

And one most important lesson i learn is that DO NOT conquer rich provinces who are trading with you. you DO NOT trade with yourself. Last game, i conquer every province with a coastline. needless to say. My trade shrink from almost a million to almost Zero

[Kekvit Irae]

I make it a rule to conquer Antioch, Venice, Flanders, and Sweden ASAP. They are the richest ones. I leave all other ports alone in my conquests, so I can maximize the profits I get from those four territories.

[katank]

@Malcolm Big Head, there is no real downside other than loss of the income for two turns and I always do this as I want to be the only one with a dominant navy and becoming filthy rich through trade.

also, from rightclicking the province names in the economy parchment, you get to see how many provinces you are trading with and how much money from trade, extremely useful IMHO.

@kekvitirae, how do you only conquer those and not be at war with everyone which would wreck your trade.

any reason why you excluded Const., Egypt, and Tripoli? I find them ultra valuable, esp. the first.

the steppes have some nice trade too.

[Kekvit Irae]

Quote[/b] (katank @ Mar. 18 2004,22:10)]@kekvitirae, how do you only conquer those and not be at war with everyone which would wreck your trade.

any reason why you excluded Const., Egypt, and Tripoli? I find them ultra valuable, esp. the first.

the steppes have some nice trade too.

Playing France on the High era, I automatically get Flanders, Tripoli, and Antioch. And Sweden is just an emissary away from being mine, and Venice is easy if you can make peace with the Italians afterwards.
The other provinces I left out because I did not remember them. :P
Constantinople, to me, is only valuable in the High era when you can easily nab a Citadel for the price of a bribe. Otherwise, I prefer Sweden because it has iron.

[Qilue]

I avoid taking Constantinople, Antioch and Tripoli unless I'm playing a faction that starts down in that region. It might just be me, but owning them seems to make the AI hate you even more than usual.