i dont know much about this guy in RL but in the game his traits are Imperialistic and Expansionist which has a lot of synergy because it reduces the amount of food needed to build settlers and workers, and you can get a lot of those units because they are easier to build.

i dont know what the Carrack is. Was it in Civ3????

What do you guys think?

Does it not merely increase hammer produsction by 50% when building workers and Settlers?

The carrack probably replaces the caravel.

Historically a carrack was rally a galleon, they had massive tonnage, usually around 800tonnes, for expect them to have a big cargo ^^

However, they may have less moves as a result of being so hefty, whetherit replaces a caravel or the galleon is the question! If they follow history it should be a galleon with a higher production cost, but more cargo capacity.

yes that is right, but because the hammers go up you wouldnt want to work the food when you are building those units therefore it decreases the need of food

should i add a poll to see whether people think it is a galleon or caravel??

I was quite surprised when Joao II was announced. I was guessing Portugal's leader would just be Henry the Navigator again. I really don't know anything about Joao, so its time to search wikipedia.

What do others (who may know Portuguese history) think about Joao's inclusion over Henry?

All I remember is that he ruled around the time Portugal established their trade routes to India in the 15th century and, for a short period, became the richest nation in Europe.

Suffice to say, he was my leader of choice back when Portugal was announced for Conquests.

If the carrack is just a bigger Galleon then it is, IMO, the weakest UU. I rarely use galleons and when I do, its to invade another continent. When thats the case I have to build loads, it makes no difference whether its 15 or 12. I really hope that isn't the case. What would be better though would be a single unit with the strength of a Frigate and the ability to carry as many troops as a Galleon. Don't know if thats realistic or not though.

Whatever it is.... it's still NAVAL... blehhhh

I still kinda like his traits though... interesting combo. The UU isn't really that big of a deal within the grand scheme of things, just a nice addition to seperate each Civ. (OK, not counting Rome's)

I really hope the naval aspect of the game gets somewhat of a boost. With privateers maybe I'll need to pay a little more attention to my navy. I doubt it will be much though.

Carrack came historically earlier than Galleon, but it was larger than Caravel. My guess is that Carrack will replace Caravel, but maybe have an ability to transport units?

Maybe the UB will be powerfull.

I hope they get a strong land UB, so that they dont fail on maps like pangea.

Thank God they put D. João II ( not Joao ) in the game instead of Henry! The guy was one of our best kings: in his reign portuguese sails past the Cape into the Indic ocean, he was the first to put cannons in sail ships and last but not least, he and Isabella of Castille and Fernidand of Aragon ( the Catholic Kings ) divided the world between Portugal and Spain by treaty ( the Tordesillas Treaty ). In his time Portugal was the more scientificaly advanced nation of Europe and the more rich too ( because of our African gold purchases ).A far better choice than Henry IMHO ( I really don't understand Sid's fixation on Henry. Probably is just because he was son of a Lancaster (that makes of him half-english)...)

About Carrack... This thing is completely reversed. Caravel was a unique (until copied, of course ) Portuguese ship designed for long travels with small crew (exploration mainly) and a Carrack ( in Portuguese Nau ) was a more general class of ships designed for transport ( more like the Civ IV Galleon). And by the way, Galleons were warships that could carry some cargo ( at least the earlier Portuguese specimens ). But in game, the carrack probably will be a Caravel that can carry settlers and/or military units

About traits, Imp + Exp is made for settler spamming and REX, most surely

The UB probably will be something with sea flavour...

@ Lucky The Fox

The guy that you're talking about is D. Manuel I , the sucessor of D. João II. Not a bad king, but the hard work was already done.

The life of D. João II was a very interesting one; really deserved a movie, especially the his death ( a very unroyal and uncommon one ). For those interested a starter:
English Wikipedia Link (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jo%C3%A3o_II_of_Portugal)

....

Thanks for the history on Joao II and the link!

Thanks for the history on Joao II and the link!


Welcome, Methos!

imperialistic expansive offers several strategies but it does seem a bit weak. It would be great if he gets any boost to whipping other than the already established . Through changing his traits or though his UB. His Ub could make a big difference but he is not useless either.

As I not speak any word of Portuguese (sorry). I would first thanks r_rolo1 for the history teaching.
But where stands D. for? Something royal?

As I not speak any word of Portuguese (sorry). I would first thanks r_rolo1 for the history teaching.
But where stands D. for? Something royal?

D. is a short form of Dom or Don ( Spaniards also use it ). It doesn't have a exact english traslation, but is somewhat similar to the terms Sir or Lord, reserved for Noble people ( comes from the latin word Dominus: owner, Lord, Sir ; if you saw the CBS ( I think) Rome you'll see what it means...)

Could somebody tell a poor native English speaker like me how to correctly pronounce Joao? Would Jo-ah-oh be close?

Could somebody tell a poor native English speaker like me how to correctly pronounce Joao? Would Jo-ah-oh be close?

Close enough... english speakers really have a hard time saying the ã ( sounds like when you're heavily breeding after an exercise) and the o's sounds close to u in University. But if you're interested, the International Phonetic Alphabet (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Phonetic_Alphabet) form for João is [ʒu'ɐ̃ũ].

I didn't see the serie Rome, and i don't speak spanish (sorry again) but i understand you enough. :lol:

Glad I could be helpful, Onagan.

Great addition!!
When I first read "Joao II" I said "What?", but with the history lesson D. Rolo gave us, and with a fast reading to the Wikipedia article, I'm happy to say Firaxis does not pay attention to "symbolical" but not very influential leaders, such as: Jeanne D'Arc instead of, say, Louis XIV; Teodora instead of Justinian; Cleopatra in Ramesses' place; or Xerxes over Cyrus.
Congratulations

C'mon , I'm not so noble :) . But I agree with you: Fixaris is proving to be more wise in leaders choices than in the past. Probably they understood that Civfans have a significant number of history buffs ( like myself :D ) and that selling them Cleopatra as a symbol of Egypt wasn't going to stick...

EDIT: By the way, Henry (Henrique , in Portuguese) the Navigator wasn't even King... I really don't understand why on earth he was choosed for the Portuguese leader in previous civs ( It's like having Disraeli or Gladstone as English leaders instead of Victoria :confused: )

And a stupid add on: Henry the Navigator was uncle of both the mother and the father of D. João II

I would've thought they would put in Joao III.

I would've thought they would put in Joao III.

Why D. João III ?

Close enough... english speakers really have a hard time saying the ã ( sounds like when you're heavily breeding after an exercise) and the o's sounds close to u in University. But if you're interested, the International Phonetic Alphabet (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Phonetic_Alphabet) form for João is [ʒu'ɐ̃ũ].

I'm sorry...because you've been so helpful on this thread...but that was really funny...:lol: :groucho:

I'm sorry...because you've been so helpful on this thread...but that was really funny...:lol: :groucho:

Not taken... I wanted a very vivid image of the sound, because I know from my own experience that english speakers have a hard time saying that sound. I could have said that -ã- sounds like the second a in Abraham, but a barfing guy is more visual, isn't it :p ?

:lol:

Good stuff. I had no idea who D. João II was before reading this thread.

I'm very glad they picked Joao II over Henry. :)

should be Cristiano Ronaldo

Not taken... I wanted a very vivid image of the sound, because I know from my own experience that english speakers have a hard time saying that sound. I could have said that -ã- sounds like the second a in Abraham, but a barfing guy is more visual, isn't it :p ?Eh, "heavily breeding after an exercise" may not be giving the visual you're intending ;)

I gather you meant 'breathing'?


As for Joao II, I like his trait combination, and if he can carry more settlers in his UU, then that would make him incredible at expansion. Cheap settlers and workers, plus being able to grow cities fast with cheap Granaries and cheap Harbours. Imagine if he started with Mining!

r_rolo1, would you have any idea of what Firaxis might have come up with for a UB for Portugal?

Big question!
Will Macau be Portuguese or Chinese?

Thanks r_rolo for the history lesson! Great success!

@ Waitiggi

It served the purpose, didn't it :lol: ? Barfing should be a better choice of words, methinks :blush: (my rusty english....)

About the UB, most surely will be the "Torre de Belem" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bel%C3%A9m_Tower) ( Belem Tower ). Effects? Probably an Harbor with Culture and/or extra cash...

@SkippyT

About Macau (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macau) ( not Macao, like I saw it somewhere ( full Portuguese name: " Cidade do Santo Nome de Deus de Macau" , something like : The City of the Holy God's name of Macau ), in spite of the Portuguese presence, Macau never had been Portuguese territory ( and by the way, it had a autonomous governement , the Senado, that was independent of both Portuguese and Chinese Governements). Portuguese? No. Chinese? No, too. But I would say ( IMHO, suspicious of course :) ) that Macau would fit better in Portugal than in China.
When the Portuguese started to settle there ( under rocks and trees... Chinese law wouldn't permit that a foreign could have a building in chinese territory ), Macau was not much more than a fishing village. What Macau is now, was done not by the Yellow Emperor, but by the Portuguese people there

@ all : Thank you all! Just trying to be helpful...

D. is a short form of Dom or Don ( Spaniards also use it ). It doesn't have a exact english traslation, but is somewhat similar to the terms Sir or Lord, reserved for Noble people ( comes from the latin word Dominus: owner, Lord, Sir ; if you saw the CBS ( I think) Rome you'll see what it means...)

I have seen many Portuguese posters write it this way - I wonder why is that? I mean, when an Englishman writes about Elisabeth I or Victoria on an internet forum, he would not precede this with "HRH" ("Her Royal Highness")?

Is this some sort of language convention? Because it sounds weird and pompous to me.

I have seen many Portuguese posters write it this way - I wonder why is that? I mean, when an Englishman writes about Elisabeth I or Victoria on an internet forum, he would not precede this with "HRH" ("Her Royal Highness")?

Is this some sort of language convention? Because it sounds weird and pompous to me.

It is a language convention, and I agree it sounds pompous. In Portugal , in terms of royal names, it has a somewhat funny function: serves as a mark of "legitime" kingdom, because it is never applied to the 3 Spaniard kings that we had ( the Filipina ( Phillipin) dinasty: Philip II of Spain, I of Portugal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_II_of_Spain) and his homonimous sucessors Philip III and IV ( II and II of Portugal).
But the term Dom is not restricted to royalty. It was a used by all the nobility ( and some still use it ( now, that is pompous!) ), similar to the English Sir. For an example, Vasco da Gama (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasco_da_Gama) ( I don't know if the name is familiar to you in real life, but it is one of the GMs ) was D. Vasco da Gama because he was a nobleman and had some high ranking positions ( like being Vice-rei of the Indian States ( the source of the English Viceroy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viceroy) of India ) ( If you want a pompous story I have one for you: until today all the first-born male line descendant of Vasco da Gama are called D. Vasco da Gama with the D. as first name...). Now tell me that you've never saw an English or another Anglo-Saxon speaking of Sir Francis Drake or of Sir Wiston Churchill ...

I was quite surprised when Joao II was announced. I was guessing Portugal's leader would just be Henry the Navigator again. I really don't know anything about Joao, so its time to search wikipedia.

What do others (who may know Portuguese history) think about Joao's inclusion over Henry?

John II in Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_II_of_Portugal

About the figure: It was a must.
Henry was not a king, just a son and brother of kings who opened the "Descobrimentos".
It was D. João II that during it's father and his own times commanded it during its highest: the Tordesilhas treaty (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tordesilhas_Treaty), and the preparations/unofficial discoveries of the Indian Route (done later by his capitain Vasco da Gama (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasco_da_gama)) and of Brasil (done later in 1500 by Pedro Álvares Cabral (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_%C3%81lvares_Cabral).

He was the one who took Isabella of Spain in several errors of judgement and punished by death several people who broke secrets of state (routes to secret lands with great gains to have). When Isabella made arrangements with a cousin of him to kill him, he killed the trator with his own swrod... he was a hard guy. Though just to its people.

In fact, he was the head of the "Christ Order", a very strict order with the finnestnoble people of the kingdom, where he recruited his best capitains and where he kept the best girls (in concents) for the ones who deserved them (includin Columbus wife, key stone to the theory that Colombus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origin_theories_of_Christopher_Columbus) worked at his orders).

Every portuguese kings have a nick name. His is "The Perfect Prince". His abilities of judgement and of trust were legendary. He reinvented the carracks himself and the idea of putting cannons on the ships close to the water is said to be is own.

In a vote to the biggest Portuguese ever, he was the 5th, but if you consider the lobbies being all the others, you may conclude he was the 1st without that lobbies behind him.
In fact, when Civ3 was launched, before this vote, I proposed his name for Portugal, instead of Henry's or Afonso's. So I am now quite happy he is the chosen one :goodjob:

If the carrack is just a bigger Galleon then it is, IMO, the weakest UU. I rarely use galleons and when I do, its to invade another continent. When thats the case I have to build loads, it makes no difference whether its 15 or 12. I really hope that isn't the case. What would be better though would be a single unit with the strength of a Frigate and the ability to carry as many troops as a Galleon. Don't know if thats realistic or not though.

The "Nau", or Carrack as you say in english, is the obvious UU...
Of course I would prefer another, because of the weak naval aspect of Civ, but perhaps a real goos difference makes for it. 2 extra movements points?
Or bombard capability? OR available earlier?
Both historically correct (especially the second and third), though probably it will not be important in most games...

UB: I hope it is not Torre de Belém.
1st there is only one in the world, not one in every coastal city.
2nd it would hurt us even more in a Pangea map!

As the traits favour a quick expansion but Port is not "organised" or "finantial", I would plee for something to fill that gap.
Like a trading house. Replaces marketplace giving +1 coin per resource till the 3rd.
Or a Chappel, replacing the temple giving +1 coin.

It can also increases hapiness. Like a cross, a memory of deeds, a luxury/spice selling or other.

Basically, something that compensates the weak UU and helps the Settler expansion that such taits will origin...

Im bad in history, and I had the opinion that henry was a good leader, but now I am convinced that João II is the best choice. Still think D. Afonso Henriques, first King of Portugal could be second leader :)

Im bad in history, and I had the opinion that henry was a good leader, but now I am convinced that João II is the best choice. Still think D. Afonso Henriques, first King of Portugal could be second leader :)

Let me say it in Portuguese:

O infante D. Henrique nunca foi rei, nunca foi a principal mola de impulsão dos Descobrimentos ( propaganda do Estado Novo :( ) e nunca foi grande defensor dos Descobrimentos ( ele preferia conquistar terras em Marrocos (ele próprio o disse quando se discutiu a malograda expedição a Tanger ( pudera, todas as terras conquistadas em Marrocos estavam sob jurisdição da Ordem de Cristo da qual ele era o Mestre :lol: ) ). Nunca percebi a fixação das pessoas por ele...

For the sake of the non portuguese speakers, a loose translation:
Henry "the Navigator" was never king, never was the main spring of impulse of the Discoveries (propaganda of the "Estado Novo" ( dictatorial regime in Portugal 1933-1974) : ( ) and never was a great defender of the Discoveries (preferred to conquer lands in Morocco (he said it himself when the unlucky expedition against Tanger was discussed (Understandable, all the lands conquered in Morocco was under jurisdiction of the Order of Christ of which it was the Master :lol: )). I never understood the fixation of the people for it...

I like the idea of D. Afonso Henriques being the Portuguese second leader, but I really doubt that will happen, based on the other civ versions.... :mad:

So I was fooled as the most. I never paid much attention to history classes they were too far boring, and Im not good at dates and such. I like History tough.

You know, there was a very deliberate effort to give the impression the Henry the Navigator was the main spring of the Discoveries. On the other hand, the deeds of D. João II are sistematically diminushed ( did you know that was his idea of putting cannons in caravels, when he was in charge of the royal shipyards, during his father's reign? That's something they don't tell you in our boring History classes ( I agree with the boring )). I'm still hoping that someone will tell me why that happened....

All news to me... but I believe it, they were against communists and monarchs.

And they did brainwash very good...that stupid contest was stupid and doesnt mean nothing, but Salazar best Portuguese ever?

That's a whole diferent story... if the votes of ultra-leftists and of the ultra-rightists ( read: PCP and PNR ) that had tax payers money to spoil in mobile calls :mad: , most probably D.Afonso Henriques and D.João II would be in the top 2 ( they were in 3rd and 4th, methinks ).
Salazar, the most important portuguese of the XX century.. no doubt. The best Portuguese ever? Not a chance....

Hi!

I'm portuguese too, and I think that D. Afonso Henriques should be the first leader of the portuguese civ, followed by D. Joao II.

The UB should be Sagres school.

Tal77: I think the UB should be some kind of nautical school too. It could replace the harbor and give science points or the library (in sea ports only) and give trade points. I like the first idea better. If the Portuguese capital is on the ocean it could become a scientific giant.

Come to think of it, maybe it would better replace the observatory rather than the library.

Come to think of it, maybe it would better replace the observatory rather than the library.

yes Observatory makes more sense, or maybe even university? I think harbor is a good option too.

EDIT: By the way, Henry (Henrique , in Portuguese) the Navigator wasn't even King... I really don't understand why on earth he was choosed for the Portuguese leader in previous civs ( It's like having Disraeli or Gladstone as English leaders instead of Victoria :confused: )
That wouldn't be too much of a stretch, as Victoria had less power then Wilhelm I and its Bismark thats in the game. The only reason I think they went with Victoria is its only her reign that everything important happened. Disraeli and Gladstone together symbolize the accomplishments of England at the time, and they need a unitary figure.

Hi!

I'm portuguese too, and I think that D. Afonso Henriques should be the first leader of the portuguese civ, followed by D. Joao II.

The UB should be Sagres school.

I do not agree about Henrique be the portuguese leader, it is like put Joan Of Arc as french leader... I prefer João II to Portugal and Louis for France...

Sagres School should be a National Wonder or a Wonder. If one day the Civilization series have a Unique Wonder, Sagres should be the portuguese one.

Portugal is a great addition to Civ series!

That's a whole diferent story... if the votes of ultra-leftists and of the ultra-rightists ( read: PCP and PNR ) that had tax payers money to spoil in mobile calls :mad: , most probably D.Afonso Henriques and D.João II would be in the top 2 ( they were in 3rd and 4th, methinks ).
Salazar, the most important portuguese of the XX century.. no doubt. The best Portuguese ever? Not a chance....
???
Can you elaborate a little more? I try to read up on Salazar whenever I get a chance (unfortunately there is one book on him in English so thats difficult), and I was really surprised by the result. Can you explain this to me.

Sorry... I was talking with another portuguese, and some things were spoken without words...
You said that English is a little hard to you... But if you want this (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ant%C3%B3nio_de_Oliveira_Salazar) is the Wiki link on him ( the author is somewhat rigthish but there are no lies in the article)

About the contest of the greatest portuguese of all times (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Os_Grandes_Portugueses).... ( see the link if you are somewhat interested...), it's a well knowed fact in Portugal that political parties (specially PCP ( the communist) and PNR ( a rightish political organization, related with the french Le Pen) spent a lot of money voting in this contest ( the vote could be made by a phone call ) to elect their favourites ( for PCP their deceaced leader, Alvaro de Cunhal and to PNR Salazar )....

About Salazar... the biggest thing that we portuguese have to thank him is that he managed to not enter in the WWII ( despite both Axis and Allies ambitions on my country ( Axis needed our tungstenium for electric valves to their tanks and the Allies wanted to use Azores to anti sub war and as scale for their supply routes and maybe opening a Iberian front to divert axis troops from the other fronts ( and in the way overthrown Franco and Salazar ). Both had made plans to ocupy Portugal...) and even profit with it.
But to put him in front of our "Founding Father" ( I love this Yankee expresion :p ) , D.Afonso Henriques or in front of any of the participants and leader of our Discoveries.... not a chance

That wouldn't be too much of a stretch, as Victoria had less power then Wilhelm I and its Bismark thats in the game. The only reason I think they went with Victoria is its only her reign that everything important happened. Disraeli and Gladstone together symbolize the accomplishments of England at the time, and they need a unitary figure.

Let put a more correct one:
It would be almost the same thing as putting Sir Francis Drake as a English leader instead of Elizabeth or Molotov instead of Stalin :confused: :crazyeye:

Sorry... I was talking with another portuguese, and some things were spoken without words...
You said that English is a little hard to you... But if you want this (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ant%C3%B3nio_de_Oliveira_Salazar) is the Wiki link on him ( the author is somewhat rigthish but there are no lies in the article)

About the contest of the greatest portuguese of all times (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Os_Grandes_Portugueses).... ( see the link if you are somewhat interested...), it's a well knowed fact in Portugal that political parties (specially PCP ( the communist) and PNR ( a rightish political organization, related with the french Le Pen) spent a lot of money voting in this contest ( the vote could be made by a phone call ) to elect their favourites ( for PCP their deceaced leader, Alvaro de Cunhal and to PNR Salazar )....

About Salazar... the biggest thing that we portuguese have to thank him is that he managed to not enter in the WWII ( despite both Axis and Allies ambitions on my country ( Axis needed our tungstenium for electric valves to their tanks and the Allies wanted to use Azores to anti sub war and as scale for their supply routes and maybe opening a Iberian front to divert axis troops from the other fronts ( and in the way overthrown Franco and Salazar ). Both had made plans to ocupy Portugal...) and even profit with it.
But to put him in front of our "Founding Father" ( I love this Yankee expresion :p ) , D.Afonso Henriques or in front of any of the participants and leader of our Discoveries.... not a chance

I would like to see Salazar as a modern portuguese leader...

What I don't get is why he's not called John?! You think Frederick of Prussia's native name was Frederick? I think they should use the game languages of English name for English language, French name for French language, etc, otherwise they should nativize every leader and city name in the game.

What I don't get is why he's not called John?! You think Frederick of Prussia's native name was Frederick? I think they should use the game languages of English name for English language, French name for French language, etc, otherwise they should nativize every leader and city name in the game.

I agree with the bolded sentence.

What I don't get is why he's not called John?! You think Frederick of Prussia's native name was Frederick? I think they should use the game languages of English name for English language, French name for French language, etc, otherwise they should nativize every leader and city name in the game.

I agree that would be nice for all languanges that use the Roman Alphabet and even Greek might work, but I am not sure I want to play against صلاح الدين الأيوبي

???
Can you elaborate a little more? I try to read up on Salazar whenever I get a chance (unfortunately there is one book on him in English so thats difficult), and I was really surprised by the result. Can you explain this to me.

What result? That TV-promoted contest? Irrelevant - surveys where the respondents select themselves are worthless. It's true that there's some older people who (like most older people!) like complaining that things were better when they were young (therefore Salazar was better), there was more "respect", that king of talk. Utterly irrelevant, it actually given the choice to spend the rest of their days in the present country or in the backwards country from 40 years ago, you can be certain they'd choose present day Portugal - and not just for the technological progress.

Salazar had power falling into his hands almost accidentally, but he was later smart enough to do what it took to keep it - and what it took was isolating the country and keeping most of the population as ignorant as possible! The first republic was bad (arguably worst that the constitutional monarchy it replaced). The Estado Novo, which came about because the politics of the republic had rotten completely, was even worst!

What result? That TV-promoted contest? Irrelevant - surveys where the respondents select themselves are worthless. It's true that there's some older people who (like most older people!) like complaining that things were better when they were young (therefore Salazar was better), there was more "respect", that king of talk. Utterly irrelevant, it actually given the choice to spend the rest of their days in the present country or in the backwards country from 40 years ago, you can be certain they'd choose present day Portugal - and not just for the technological progress.

Salazar had power falling into his hands almost accidentally, but he was later smart enough to do what it took to keep it - and what it took was isolating the country and keeping most of the population as ignorant as possible! The first republic was bad (arguably worst that the constitutional monarchy it replaced). The Estado Novo, which came about because the politics of the republic had rotten completely, was even worst!

Absolutely signed under.... But the third Republic is not going in a good way too.... :(

What I don't get is why he's not called John?! You think Frederick of Prussia's native name was Frederick? I think they should use the game languages of English name for English language, French name for French language, etc, otherwise they should nativize every leader and city name in the game.

Well in modern English the general impulse is to use the same name the locals do. The main exception is for names that people have used regularly for centuries; in those cases the old anglicized name is recognized enough that it sticks around.

If Germany today had a leader called Friedrich, he would be called that in the English speaking press. The main reason the historic figure is still called Frederick is because he's been continously referred to by that name in childeren's history classes for many centuries, and many English speaking people will recognize 'Frederick the Great' as someone they read about once in a class (of course, they probably don't remember anything meaningful about him).

Most English speakers wouldn't recognize Joao II (whether you called him John II or as Joao II), so you're more likely to see the Portuguese name.

Note, many people probably do recall something of Henry the Navigator, so English speakers continue to refer to him as that (instead of Henrique).

That wouldn't be too much of a stretch, as Victoria had less power then Wilhelm I and its Bismark thats in the game. The only reason I think they went with Victoria is its only her reign that everything important happened. Disraeli and Gladstone together symbolize the accomplishments of England at the time, and they need a unitary figure.

She was the head of state of the an empire that owned 1/4 of the world's land area. She was the richest woman in the world. Oh yes, she wasn't powerful. :rolleyes: