I'm about to conquer Nieuw Amsterdam and Fort Albany (yeah I didn't get to chemistry in time to rule the seas). Does "No colonies by 1700" mean I cannot conquer these cities (because they'll still be "colonies" of England and the Netherlands even though I control them politically)?
What about if I conquer these cities but give them to a vassal or a friend like the Vikings or Germany (because then the culture becomes 100% Norse or German and they won't have any more English or Dutch)?
Or is razing them to the ground the only choice?:confused:

Conquering them doesn't make you fail the objective. Just take them all or raze them down, it doesn't matter

Thank you very much. I was debating whether to send settlers early or just conquer everything after they've wasted all their settlers...:)

If France or England collapses and their colonies become independent, does it mean that they no longer count as colonies? (I'm at the point where I collapsed France, took Rennes, Bordeaux and Marseilles as independent cities, and am about to do the same with England.)

Independent dont count, why collapse them though? its very fun to have your pirates terrorize the atlantic heh

Independent dont count, why collapse them though? its very fun to have your pirates terrorize the atlantic heh

Why have your pirates terrorize the Atlantic, while you can terrorize Western Europe with you conquistadores? If that gets boring you can always move eastwards.

Why have your pirates terrorize the Atlantic, while you can terrorize Western Europe with you conquistadores? If that gets boring you can always move eastwards.

My Conquistadors are already doing their job conquering the Americas. I usually try not to conquer my neighbors to early, its more fun in my mind to play the game in character then go all out and conquer an AI which is in disadvantage.