[NFP] Does Portugal want a Dark Classical?

[Deadly Dog]

Ok, so my settings for my first Portugal run, in hindsight, are asking for trouble:

Terra Map/Zombies/Dramatic Ages/BarbarianClans.

So even on emperor the barb clan have no time to establish before the Ai fills up the fog of war on a Terra map. Zombies are here and mutating so promise to be a looming threat.

But I had no hope of avoiding a Dark Age, so I embraced it and didn't settle just parked my first built settler for the last 8 turns of the ancient and got 1/2 way through producing a settler for my 3rd city.

When Classical starts I am in a dark age and a few turns from PP, I quickly settle second city and get the other settler out for my third, when I get PP I slot Isolationism in the wildcard slot.

I am on terra map so by meeting 8 of 10 civs I have 9 trade routes available. But only Gorgo has a city I can trade with, though soon she has 3.
So I trade with myself, 5/6 possible domestic shown here routes each givng +4f/+4p and gold as well as gold from Caravanseries.

the only problem is the era will be over before I can build enough traders and I only needed9 points to get a golden age for the ME, so Isolationism will be lost.

Good thing is I have 2 harbors and almost 2 campuses so I can run the Free Inquiry wildcard and since Cartography is boosted I have a good shot a getting a solid foothold in the New World.

Spoiler :

 

[Yzman]

Sorry I must have lost it somewhere in the post...why was the dark age beneficial?

 

[Deadly Dog]

Having many trade routes early but nowhere to send them, and then hitting Dark Age meant I could run Isolationism. I still could only use 6/8 trade routes until I revealed another city on the coast nearby. But that's 2 routes per city giving an extra 3f/3p per route. It was such a nice boost for about 20-30 turns I thought maybe it would be a good strategy in the future.