Selling horses & guns to the natives

[Molybdeus]

I used to believe that buying horses and guns in Europe and selling them to the natives was obvious and something you should do in all games. There are a number of problems with this, though.

Taxes
Buying guns or horses is expensive, and will rapidly increase your level of taxation. Try playing two games, one in which you buy goods in Europe to sell to the natives and another in which you don't at all to see the difference. I assure you it's quite large.

Native Gold
I play primarily on small maps due to my laptop being old, and the natives soon run out of gold to trade to you. This happens to me on large maps, too, though not as quickly.

If you don't trade horses and/or guns with the natives, you will be able to sell them goods you've produced in your own colonies. Thus you can use your surplus production of goods to trade to the natives and still get their gold.

Army the Enemy
Hopefully you have good relations with all the tribes. Unfortunately, sometimes war isn't avoidable, and you may find yourself fighting the very people you've been supplying war material to.

I've therefore decided that If I'm playing New England and thus probably aiming at a quick victory, I will trade European produced guns and horses to the natives. But as the Dutch, French or Spanish I will not.

What are other peoples' views on this?

 

[Uchdryd]

I've found exactly the same thing. For me, the main problem is that none of the tribes have any money at all. Not sure why, but it's frustrating to search everywhere with a trade wagon and find no one able to buy anything.

 

[ditchhook]

I've found exactly the same thing. For me, the main problem is that none of the tribes have any money at all. Not sure why, but it's frustrating to search everywhere with a trade wagon and find no one able to buy anything.

They all start out with money. I'd guess your AI competition is beating you to the punch, selling them goods before you do. The original poster doesn't warn that if one waits until their own production gets going, they natives will have significantly less money to spend.

Each game is different, and one has to be flexible. If you see the chance, take out one of your competitors, then use a privateer to hunt down the others' merchant ships to reduce their ability to trade with the natives. Sell guns and horses to the tribe nearest your biggest competitor to slow them down.

Don't forget you can also give the tribes money by buying their goods. (Silver can be especially profitable.) So you can still trade with them by first buying what they have for sale, and then immediately selling something back to them (before your European competitors get your coin). A galleon works best for this. Its six cargo bays allow for some flexibility, allowing you to make a more extensive trading trip. Don't buy what you don't have room for in your vehicle. The game will simply delete the extra items without any warning or notice.

When you decide whether a trade is 'profitable' or not, remember you are getting trade points (for founding fathers) too.

If there is one strategy that always works; it is to beg, borrow, or steal to be the first one with a scout. Visit those villages and pop those goody huts. Compromise every other goal in the early game to do that.

 

[CoZe]

never sell horses or guns to natives near you.

you can sell them to natives far away from you, and near other european powers.

 

[Malkaviel]

never sell horses or guns to natives near you.

you can sell them to natives far away from you, and near other european powers.

Not sure how you justify this statement. Sell them 100 muskets, big deal. They have 2 str 3 units instead of str 2. They're still going to kill unguarded pioneers or wagon trains, they're still going to get killed by soldiers behind stockades, they're still going to get killed by cannons while defending villages.

Show me the math to legitimize "never selling horses or guns to natives near you".