Colonization II problem

[Galandor]

I can't remember if this issue was also present in colonization 1...but anyway here it goes:

When in mid to late game i try to instill the independence feeling with liberty bells in my citys...but i don't seem to be making any progress, the total percentage is 38% want independence, but all my citys (except 2), are way above 50% in fabor of independence, so i don't know how to declare independence....

....also i noticed that the percentage won't go above a certain number (for example 72% in a random city), does this mean that the soldiers defending the city are those in fabor of the king? if so, how do i instill the independence feeling to the people not directly IN the city. I would be terribly tedious to convert ALL my soldiers since i have more than 40....any help, please?

 

[dalgo]

This is probably the most frequently asked question in the Col 2 forum. The answer is that the two rebel sentiment values are different. The colony rebel sentiment values reflects the views of only those colonists working in that colony. The global rebel sentiment represents the views of your total population, including pioneers, scouts, military units etc outside the colonies. So if you are building a large standing army in preparation for your War of Independence that has to be taken into account. In effect there is a maintenance cost to pay, but unlike other games it is not in gold or food. In Colonization the currency is liberty bells.

However, unlike other games, Colonization does not tell you this

You can calculate your maximum possible rebel sentiment as follows:
Global Rebel Sentiment % = bells per turn x 25 / total population.

Your rebel sentiment will trend towards this value over time. You can add up your bells per turn from the Domestic Advisor, while your total population is 'All Units' minus 'No Profession' from your Military Advisor.

There are two ways to work around this problem - reduce your total population or increase your liberty bell production. What I do in this situation is build a couple of small 'legislative' colonies with 3 elder statesmen and a farmer in each. Put them inland so you won't have to defend them from the REF and build a printing press/newspaper there. Your liberty bell production will increase dramatically.