Historical Accuracy

[Gilgalad]

Just started playing Colonization, and generally think it's awesome.

It does fairly well as an historical simulation too. But there are some things missing;

1. European powers going to war with each other and dragging the colonies along for the ride. This actually happened several times in the 17th & 18th c.

2. African slaves. Historically a very big part of the colonization of North Am. Not only as a source of labour but also as a major engine of trade for the New England colonies (triangle route between New England, West Africa and the Caribbean)

3. Disease. Not only were the natives wiped out in huge numbers by smallpox but the white settlers in Virginia especially also died in high numbers from local diseases.

I can guess why these weren't included

1. Would change the nature of the game too much from its economic emphasis to a military one. (But it might be a fun game in its own right.)

2. Issues of cultural sensitivity (but the game designers didn't seem to have the same scruples about the natives whose land the settlers encroached on)

3. Just a stone cold drag from a gaming point-of-view.

Any thoughts?

 

[dalgo]

1. European powers going to war with each other and dragging the colonies along for the ride. This actually happened several times in the 17th & 18th c.

This was actually a feature of the original 1994 game of Colonization on which this version is based. The King would suddenly announce that your country was at war with another, provide a couple of soldiers for support and leave you to fight it out. It added more depth to the game and I don't know why the designers chose to leave it out this time.

 

[Strikercups]

I think the game is accurate. But it's a game, so of course there's going to be alterations (What makes it fun)

 

[geowzrd]

I also wonder why you cant ask other European kings to help you in your revolution, as we relied on the French to help fight the British. Also, Portugal is notably absent in the game despite starting the slave trade and colonizing Brazil. Another annoyance is that Thomas Jefferson of all people is not a founding father, yet people from the Early Republic era such as Hawthorne, McCormick, and Whitney are. Other than that it still is a fun game.