Quote Originally Posted by Monsieur Alphonse View Post
They steal it.

Raiding is a huge source of income. Their base income is 3000 + some gold from their two regions. It is possible that their base income is more then 3000 since they get an AI bonus. The rest is from raiding and possibly price money from captured ships. And they have nothing to build.
I didn't know it was that profitable. The times I raided enemy shipping lanes, it felt as if I wasn't even making a dent into their economy, much less mine.