Colonization

[Alanston]

Colonization

WIP, subject to change/adjustments

Colonization is when a nation decides to settle new lands. During the 1700s this most often took place in the Americas, coastal Africa, and South Africa. Historically there were several different models of colonization: exploitation, settler, conversion. A nation can often utilize one or more of these methods, depending on the region they are colonizing. All three models share characteristics of the others, and wealth exploitation is a key focus of colonialism in general, however these three models can be seen as distinct forms of colonization.

Exploitation Colonialism is characterized by the claiming and controlling of large swaths of land, but with few actual settlers in the region. The locals are mostly allowed to live their lives as they want, and no large scale efforts for conversion or assimilation are made. Instead, the colonial power is focused on trade and wealth generation, and how much resources they can extract from a region. There are usually few colonial settlers in the region, aside from a small elite minority, often in key regions. Nations undertaking exploitation colonialism often have a larger military presence in their colonial holdings. Exploitation colonialism usually does not care about tribal borders, and the colonial power will often impose a unified language on the people, either being their own or a single local one, in order to maintain power. An example of exploitation colonialism is Dutch Indonesia, or most European colonialism in Africa.

Settler Colonialism is the typical colonial model, and is characterized by large numbers of people coming to the colonies to settle and make new homes. Under settler colonialism the locals are typically forcibly removed or forcibly assimilated into the settler culture. An example of settler colonialism is the British colonies in the Americas and Australia.

Conversion Colonialism is characterized by the focused conversion of the natives to Christianity, alongside the settlement of those lands. Under conversion colonialism the locals are often permitted to maintain their local languages and some of their customs, but are usually actively being converted to Christianity. Conversion colonialism was historically the main focus of Catholic nations, who saw it as their Christian duty to convert the locals and bring them salvation. Although Conversion colonialism still has some aspects of settler colonialism, with the mother nation sending colonists to the colonies, the main purpose is often the conversion of the locals and the spread of Christianity. An example of conversion colonialism is the Spanish in the Philippines.

Despite the unique interactions of the three types with regards to Indigenous populations, initial colonization efforts have to content with the fact that there are still people living in the lands, and those people are not always friendly to outsiders. This means that initial diplomacy, be that in the form of "friendship" treaties or wars, will need to be conducted with the local peoples, not too long after initial colonization begins.

A nation settling new lands needs to start their colonies on the coast, and then work their ways inland from there. These extended colonies typically were founded along major rivers (eg Montreal or Albany). A nation that declares war and conquers an Indigenous group can start colonies beyond the coast. Depending how organized the Indigenous nation was, a nation that wins a war can make large swaths of land a colony (such as with the Inca or Aztecs), or can only make a few small village regions a colony and lay claim to the rest of the land (such as with the Iroquois). Some Indigenous nations might be expected to put up a fierce resistance to being conquered, preventing the nation

State Sponsored
- Tied to your economy
- More control over where it is and who goes

Non-State Sponsored
- Less control over who goes and where it is
- Can be converted to state sponsored
- Can occur as a result of unrest factors

Indigenous Relations
- Natives living in the land can influence your colony for better or worse
- Everywhere has natives, though some places have more or less (far northern areas typically have less)
- Natives in some regions are more hostile then others
- Interactions with Natives will influence their hostility
- Native populations in the Americas have recently been decimated by diseases, having declined by 70-90% in most places
- Some Natives have full nations that can't be easily settled (eg Aztecs or Inca)
- Most Natives in North and South America (aside from the Aztecs, Inca, and Mayans) are considered migratory nations, and do not have permanent cities
- Any land that is not settled is assumed to be "Indigenous Land," and must be interacted with accordingly. Players can use this map to get a sense of which tribes were where: Native Land

Factors that affect colonization
- Weather (colonies in harsher weather climates will struggle more - both cold and hot)
- Nations starting colonies in regions with weather that significantly varies from their normal climate will encounter significant difficulties, compared to those in climates similar to their own.
- Colonies in colder climates (Canada, Alaska, etc) will suffer failures initially, and take longer to establish.
- In certain regions the weather & climate is just not favourable in the 1700s to start a colony, these regions include the Darien Gap, much of interior Canada and the US, most Arctic places (Greenland, Canadian territories, Alaska, etc), the Amazon, the interior of much of sub-Saharan Africa, among others.
- Disease is a significant limiting factor, and impacts how well colonies in certain regions will succeed, these regions are often tropical and humid regions, and is especially limiting in the starting of settlements and colonies. Disease is more noticeable when your colonists come from regions unaccustomed to such climates (eg British settlers in Florida, or Dutch settlers in Taiwan).
- Geography (in some areas it just isn't feasible to start a colony due to the harsh conditions of the land)
- Distance between colonies and other established colonies/the main land
- Proximity of other colonies - having established settlements nearby new settlement attempts will help the new attempts to better succeed.
- Slave trade
- Economy, starting a colony is expensive, both in regards to state finances and manpower and fleets, smaller nations are just not able to afford to maintain large colonies effectively

Forts vs claims
- Forts are the initial colonies that occur, and are often on the coast or major rivers
- Exceptions exist for those who invade Indigenous nations
- Claims can be made after either seeing land for the first time (eg the Dutch and Australia), or can be made after the establishment of an initial fort
- Claims can overlap with Indigenous nations
- Forts can not be established immediately, and must be gradually set up and developed over time. Different factors can influence this, such as weather and Indigenous relations. An exception is the outright conquest of established Indigenous nations.

Soldiers
- Until forts and initial colonies grow to a certain size, they are not considered self-sustaining, and can not support large forces of troops garrisoned within.
- Colonies in regions with hostile Natives need a larger troop presence until the unrest is quelled/the Natives are thoroughly pacified.
- Historically early colonies in North America had a small troop presence, however this varied by location and depending on the circumstances
- Troops stationed in colonies can be useful for enforcing a nation's claim, taking the colonies/forts of other nations, driving off the Natives, among other purposes

Trade Companies
- Can be sponsored by nations
- Can act under the control of the government, or act independently
- Examples include the VOC and Hudson's Bay Company (HBC)
- Are primarily focused on wealth creation and trade, and much less so on colonization, usually operating small trading posts (eg small forts or factories) along major rivers or ports
- More successful trade companies can control vast swaths of land, but usually they do not have much in the way of permanent settlements in these regions
- Often interact directly with the Natives
- More independent trade companies can field their own militaries separate from that of their host nation, and can act more like independent countries than trade companies
- Trade companies usually focus on a specific region, rather than larger areas

Exploration
- Much of the interior of North America was considered unexplored during this time, as seen in this map from 1708
- It is expected that nations share maps around to a certain extent, and so the level of areas explore is often shared with other nations - this needs to be RP'd
- Some nations can opt to keep their maps confidential, and not share them, whereas other nations can share their maps freely
- Nations can send explorers out to "discover" new lands, this must be done via RP, and includes interactions with various Natives, the difficulties of traversing unknown terrain, among others