The Moors

[Mookus]

I am having a real problem with my Moorish campaign and was looking for a little help. First let me say that diplomatically this is a hard faction to play. Everyone wants to fight you and there isn't much reason for them to accept ceasefires. I'm fighting for the Iberian and have Portugal on their last leg but I still have some work to do for the Spanish. Then I'm fighting off Venetian port blockades and an occasional invasion from the East.

All this war cost a lot of money and like everyone suggested, I headed for Timbuktu early in the game to capture my cash cow. The only problem is my merchants fumbled. Hard. Out of the first 5 merchants I made they had a combined, let my repeat that, combined skill of 2. Thats right 2. Three of them had 0 skill and the remaining two had 1. So instead of swimming in gold ala Duck Tales I'm just slightly better off financially than I was when I took Timbuktu.

What is my best option for improving my financial situation here?


*edit*

Actually in hindsight it looks like I complained too soon. After about 6-7 turns all those merchants gained a skill point or two so I'm no longer in the financial hot seat I was before.