Cant wait to try it all out!
I am not sure if I got any free request tokens left after the fort-colonies but since you ask
Ever when trade no longer existed in ExCEx I was kind of bummed out boring little Netherlands did not get any change after all. I was wondering if it makes sense giving them an economical boost (really could be anything, maybe even just GM points) for settling colonies, which in turn receive fewer citizens when settled. I am sure the reasoning behind this mechanic is clear.
Also maybe it makes sense that the amount of colonies in your empire increases the change of an extra traderoute slot. I like it for historical reasons since colonial empires from classical to modern times always have had a large focus on their trade traffic. But gameplay wise it is also just nice to have some hands free to develop far away colonies this way, either by inland traderoutes or using the money on the infrastrucure that you have to buy. Mostly I see it being benificial as a potential little push for people that don't like the idea of this mod resticting them (blasphemous!). I see a lot of people have a negative look on settling a colony instead of a city. Accompanying a (perceived) restriction with an addition stops people from thinking they are doing a step backwards I hope.