Just giving feedback 
Version: Civ4 BtS RFC DoC v1.10
Civilization: Congo
Victory type: UHV
Difficulty: Viceroy
Victory date: 1829 (turn 183)
Score: Dan Quyle
Backround:
----------
Congo was a native african civilisation that grew in the Congo river in central Africa.
It was semi-capitulated by Portoguese and was the main source of atlantic slave trade's slaves. In the late colonial era (1900AD) it was part of the belgian colonial empire.
Goals:
------
*10% of apostolic palace votes
*1000
by (atlantic) slave trade
*Enter industrial era before anyone enters modern era
The first two goals, spread of Catholicism and the slave trade, refer to what Portoguese did in Congo, rather what Congo did itself. There ar two ways to aquire slaves, win against native african units (inside your cultural borders) and enslave your population. As one other player refered the second goal may be irritating against Cogolese people, since you enslave your people.
The third goal is ok since it is a dream of all minor civs, to be somewhat more adavanced.
However, I can't of something more interesting. For example aquire the Congo river inside your cultural borders is less demanding than the 10% of apostolic palace.
Strategy:
---------
The establishment era:
----------------------
When I spawned I settled Mbanza Congo in the spot, which is essential as shown below. After that I built settlers and pombos and built all the cities around to establish the kingdom of Congo in central Africa. Don't neglet to train workers as well. Switching to organised religion right now is a good idea because it won't cost much in the early game. I my game Islam spred often, because the first civilisations I met were Arabia and Moors, so I switched to theocracy.
The portoguese era:
-------------------
The portoguese trading company offers 200 gold for my capital. The best strategy is to agree and then send 2 to 3 Pombos to recapture Mbanza Kongo.
If you let Portugal decrare war you'll face an army of bombards and muskets right by your capital. You need an army of much more than 3 pombos to defende effectively.
On the contrary, if you accept the offer, you'll face only one musket in Mbanza Congo which in most games will be killed by only one Pombo. Don't forget that you will keep the 200 in your treasury, you'll gain one more worker but most importantly you will get catholicism in your area
. And, it more historical.
In my game I sent three Pombos to recaptura Mbanza Congo. I had built an army of other three Pombos and sent then to capture Quelimane (+1 catholic city, +1worker, better peace treaty). After capturing two cities of the Portoguese (which is about 25% of the Portoguese area that time) Portoguese were so afraid of me that they gave, per turn and a technology to sign a peace treaty.
The catholic era:
----------------
In order to succed the 1st you need by 1600AD to already run organised religion, a catholic Mbanza Congo (or other more than 2 population catholic city), a really productive city, as more cities as you can, calendar, plantations and the cities should be as populus as you can.
The last can be succeded in the last 50 years but the amount of cities should be already done.
In this era you'll have to spread catholicism to all your cities and make them large in order to succed the 1st goal. Open border any catholic civ you contact, ruch a catholic missionary from Banza Congo and spread catholicism to your most productive city. Train missionaries and spread catholicism to your most populous cities.
You have to be lucky to succed the 1st goal. It is possible that Islam will spread first in your land (remember: you are surrounded by muslim neighbours), that the portugese won't have enough money, that the reformation won't have triggered by 1650, that Portoguese will be protestant or that the Plague will kill your population.
In my game I was lucky enough that Reformation was triggered before I become a cristian civ (so I didn't decrare war to anyone, except the Portuguese of course), a plague spread in Europe downgrading their cities while I was spreading catholicism. I managed to succed the 1st goal, but I was really lucky that all the events helped me.
Maybe catholicism should spread via scripted catholic missionaries in Congo, or else...
The tyranny era:
----------------
Yes that's right. After selling your capital to a trading company you will have to enslave your own people
You need two populous cities to succeed this goal and contact with other civs. Your people in these cities will be really 
of what are you doing, so you should switch to dynasticism to aquire this 
per turn. Military presence will keep in order.
The best buyers are western Europeans. Spanish will give an amount of 100 per slave wich is really awsome, make sure to aquire contact with them, I needed to trade for optics and train a caravel but it was worthwhile. French can give you that much as well, but they tend to give you only 50 per turn. Portoguese and english give you 50 . Other civs wil give you only 25 per turn and some others like ottomans gave only 8 per turn. Remember that slaves cost a lot, they cost +3 , so make sure to make this sacrifice worthwhile.
If you want to be good to your people you should win impis that invade your territory, but this won't be enough. An other strategy would be buying slave units to resell them, but you really need this 1000 for your research.
The research era:
-----------------
By now you will control a free and large Congo. They only thing you have to do is researching an industrail era technology and maintain a reasonable reasearch rate (or espisionage rate if you want to steal some techs, I haven't tried that).
The best technology to focus is steel. It only required iron working, which you already know from the start, so it requires the least
Moreover, the prerequired technologies feudalism, guilds, gunpowder, military science and chemistry are really good military techs, they will enable you more advanced units to defende your land and AIs will pay more to get them from you. You'll have longbows in the medieval era, muskets in the later medieval, granadiers that beat rifles in the renaiscance. You 'll have to aquire steel before others train infantry stacks to evade you.
I was one of the first civs to get military science so I bought a lot of renaiscance techs form other civs.
In viceroy the tech costs are halved so discovering steel is pretty easy. In other levels you will have to maintain a greater rate of. Building markets, and banks for money and libraries, monasteries, observators and universities may be essential.
Your main rival in this goal will propably be England in other levels. England has the greatest tech rate (the reduced maintainance costs is really powerfull UP). Propably, England will have colonies south of you and may attack you if you are weak.
In the game I signed a defensive pact with England to make sure it won't attack. I was away form other civs except form Malinese who I could beat on my own.
Version: Civ4 BtS RFC DoC v1.10
Civilization: Congo
Victory type: UHV
Difficulty: Viceroy
Victory date: 1829 (turn 183)
Score: Dan Quyle
Backround:
----------
Congo was a native african civilisation that grew in the Congo river in central Africa.
It was semi-capitulated by Portoguese and was the main source of atlantic slave trade's slaves. In the late colonial era (1900AD) it was part of the belgian colonial empire.
Goals:
------
*10% of apostolic palace votes
*1000
by (atlantic) slave trade*Enter industrial era before anyone enters modern era
The first two goals, spread of Catholicism and the slave trade, refer to what Portoguese did in Congo, rather what Congo did itself. There ar two ways to aquire slaves, win against native african units (inside your cultural borders) and enslave your population. As one other player refered the second goal may be irritating against Cogolese people, since you enslave your people.
The third goal is ok since it is a dream of all minor civs, to be somewhat more adavanced.
However, I can't of something more interesting. For example aquire the Congo river inside your cultural borders is less demanding than the 10% of apostolic palace.
Strategy:
---------
The establishment era:
----------------------
When I spawned I settled Mbanza Congo in the spot, which is essential as shown below. After that I built settlers and pombos and built all the cities around to establish the kingdom of Congo in central Africa. Don't neglet to train workers as well. Switching to organised religion right now is a good idea because it won't cost much in the early game. I my game Islam spred often, because the first civilisations I met were Arabia and Moors, so I switched to theocracy.
The portoguese era:
-------------------
The portoguese trading company offers 200 gold for my capital. The best strategy is to agree and then send 2 to 3 Pombos to recapture Mbanza Kongo.
If you let Portugal decrare war you'll face an army of bombards and muskets right by your capital. You need an army of much more than 3 pombos to defende effectively.
On the contrary, if you accept the offer, you'll face only one musket in Mbanza Congo which in most games will be killed by only one Pombo. Don't forget that you will keep the 200
in your treasury, you'll gain one more worker but most importantly you will get catholicism in your area. And, it more historical.Spoiler :
In my game I sent three Pombos to recaptura Mbanza Congo. I had built an army of other three Pombos and sent then to capture Quelimane (+1 catholic city, +1worker, better peace treaty). After capturing two cities of the Portoguese (which is about 25% of the Portoguese area that time) Portoguese were so afraid of me that they gave
, per turn and a technology to sign a peace treaty.The catholic era:
----------------
In order to succed the 1st you need by 1600AD to already run organised religion, a catholic Mbanza Congo (or other more than 2 population catholic city), a really productive city, as more cities as you can, calendar, plantations and the cities should be as populus as you can.
The last can be succeded in the last 50 years but the amount of cities should be already done.
In this era you'll have to spread catholicism to all your cities and make them large in order to succed the 1st goal. Open border any catholic civ you contact, ruch a catholic missionary from Banza Congo and spread catholicism to your most productive city. Train missionaries and spread catholicism to your most populous cities.
You have to be lucky to succed the 1st goal. It is possible that Islam will spread first in your land (remember: you are surrounded by muslim neighbours), that the portugese won't have enough money, that the reformation won't have triggered by 1650, that Portoguese will be protestant or that the Plague will kill your population.
In my game I was lucky enough that Reformation was triggered before I become a cristian civ (so I didn't decrare war to anyone, except the Portuguese of course
), a plague spread in Europe downgrading their cities while I was spreading catholicism. I managed to succed the 1st goal, but I was really lucky that all the events helped me.Maybe catholicism should spread via scripted catholic missionaries in Congo, or else...
The tyranny era:
----------------
Yes that's right. After selling your capital to a trading company you will have to enslave your own people
You need two populous cities to succeed this goal and contact with other civs. Your people in these cities will be really of what are you doing, so you should switch to dynasticism to aquire this per turn. Military presence will keep in order.The best buyers are western Europeans. Spanish will give an amount of 100
per slave wich is really awsome, make sure to aquire contact with them, I needed to trade for optics and train a caravel but it was worthwhile. French can give you that much as well, but they tend to give you only 50 per turn. Portoguese and english give you 50 . Other civs wil give you only 25 per turn and some others like ottomans gave only 8 per turn. Remember that slaves cost a lot, they cost +3 , so make sure to make this sacrifice worthwhile.If you want to be good to your people you should win impis that invade your territory, but this won't be enough. An other strategy would be buying slave units to resell them, but you really need this 1000
for your research.Spoiler :
The research era:
-----------------
By now you will control a free and large Congo. They only thing you have to do is researching an industrail era technology and maintain a reasonable reasearch rate (or espisionage rate if you want to steal some techs, I haven't tried that).
The best technology to focus is steel. It only required iron working, which you already know from the start, so it requires the least
Moreover, the prerequired technologies feudalism, guilds, gunpowder, military science and chemistry are really good military techs, they will enable you more advanced units to defende your land and AIs will pay more to get them from you. You'll have longbows in the medieval era, muskets in the later medieval, granadiers that beat rifles in the renaiscance. You 'll have to aquire steel before others train infantry stacks to evade you.I was one of the first civs to get military science so I bought a lot of renaiscance techs form other civs.
In viceroy the tech costs are halved so discovering steel is pretty easy. In other levels you will have to maintain a greater rate of
. Building markets, and banks for money and libraries, monasteries, observators and universities may be essential.Your main rival in this goal will propably be England in other levels. England has the greatest tech rate (the reduced maintainance costs is really powerfull UP). Propably, England will have colonies south of you and may attack you if you are weak.
In the game I signed a defensive pact with England to make sure it won't attack. I was away form other civs except form Malinese who I could beat on my own.
Spoiler :
and your cities won't grow more than 5 or 7 (except coastal cities).
