Trying to get the hang of the mechanics

[USAFireFly]

Yes



You can't do much else with immigrants. You could turn them to missionaries, build new settlements, harvest resources or work in your city.

Once you have pioneers to road and wagons to facilitate trade routes the best use for new citizens is making new colonies until you run into micromanagement problems or problems with the natives. The center settlement tile is worked for free so your first worker in every colony is extra efficient. Rarely do I build more than 10 colonies though so keep that in mind.

But don't feel bad if you're not utilizing some specialists to their full potential. Frequently I'll have expert fur traders or expert weavers sitting around harvesting lumber or some other raw material while I wait to build their production facilities.



Go inside your colonies and set them to export and import various goods. Then hit auotmate trade routes on your wagons.



Use the middle mouse button to scroll out so that you see the map as a globe. Look at the icons on the minimap. One of them should allow you to view the natives trading opportunities, training, and another option.

Thanks! I had the same questions! Colonization has poor writers and they have confusing stuff in there...shouldn't be!

 

[Malkaviel]

You can send criminals, indentured servants or free colonists to be trained by native villages in their specific trade.

You can put criminals, indentured servants, free colonists, or natives in school, college, university to train them in a field specific to whatever specialist is present in the city.

You can put guns on any colonist and make it a soldier. Similarly, horses/tools/horses+guns to make scout/pioneer/dragoon. Incidentally, this is a great space saver early on. Say you have a caravel and want to bring over elder statesman and lumberjack on dock. Make them soldiers on the dock, load them up. Back at the colony strip guns, put them to work in the city and sell 100 guns to indians, or put guns on a criminal and keep 50 in stock in case of attack where any colonist can pick them up to defend.

In multiplayer games leave them on the dock for awhile til you know for sure your opponents not going to just rush you turn 21 and take them. You have no obligation to bring them from europe.