Trade

This article deals with the trade network and trade income. For information about trade goods and their production and value, see trade goods.

Trade nodes

Historical centers of trade and other provincial trade power modifiers in 1444.

Trade and production of trade goods are two of the three main sources of income for a country, the third being taxes. Every province produces trade goods, which give production income to their owner directly. The trade value of the goods then enters a system of trade nodes, where it is steered and eventually collected by merchants as trade income.

Summary

The trade system in game can be summarized as follows:

• Trade nodes across the world are connected to form a global network of trade. Each node hosts the trade activity of a group of geographically associated provinces. Money in this global trade network can flow between trade nodes in unidirectional trade routes as well as terminate at end nodes. These connections between trade nodes are fixed and cannot be altered during the course of play.
• Trade value represents the monthly sum of locally produced and incoming trade goods in a trade node. Trade value is generated from the quantity and price of produced trade goods in each province. All provinces pool their trade value into the total trade value of their associated trade node. The trade tab provides an aggregate trade value in a node while the trade map mode displays a tooltip listing locally produced goods separately from incoming trade good values.
• Trade power is a number representing a country's control over trade in a node. The trade power of a country as a proportion of the total trade power of all countries present in the node determines what will happen to the trade value in each node. Power is used either to retain trade value within the node (if the nation is collecting with a merchant or at its home node), or to transfer it forward in the trade network (if the nation is steering from there with a merchant, or it's not its home node and it has no merchant). Trade power is generated by provinces, light ships, and merchants. Certain ideas, events and modifiers can also affect a country's trade power in a node.
• Merchants can be sent to a trade node to collect a portion of the node's trade value proportional to the nation's share of trade power in the node, or steer the node's trade value in a particular direction.

Sources of trade value

See also: Trade goods

The Krakow trade node, showing all sources of local trade value.

All trade income ultimately originates as provincial trade value.

Local trade value

The trade value of a province is equal to local goods produced × the price of the trade good that the province produces. This value can be seen in the province window. Trade value determines production income, but it is not itself affected by either production efficiency or local autonomy. See Trade goods § Goods produced for the details of goods produced; for trade purposes, the most noteworthy modifier is that merchant republics and trade companies give a bonus – in all provinces in the node, not just their own – to goods produced proportional to their share of trade power in a node, up to +50%.

Trade value can be further increased by a local trade value modifier, which is given by certain events:

	Event modifier	Trigger	Duration
+20%	Controls Tea Trade	Cultural event: “The Way of Tea” Option: ‘Make it so!’	for the rest of the campaign.
+10%	Diamond District	Price change event: “Faceting”	for the rest of the campaign.
+10%	Perfume Capital	Price change event: “Growth of the Perfume Industry”	for the rest of the campaign.
+15%	Regulated Economic Growth	Trade policy event: “Increased Demand for [trade_province.GetFancyTradeGood]” Option: ‘We should step in to limit any excesses.’	for 10 years.
+15%	Unregulated Economic Growth	Trade policy event: “Increased Demand for [trade_province.GetFancyTradeGood]” Option: ‘Let us lighten regulations to really benefit local entrepreneurs.’	for 10 years.
−25%	Caravan Raids	Tribal Federation event: “Stolen [fancy_trade_caravan_origin.GetFancyTradeGood]” Option: ‘We must root out the raiders.’	for 10 years.
+10%	Expanding the Markets of Cairo	Mamluk Government event: “The Tarh and the Royal Monopolies” Option: ‘We will just have to endure the cost.’	for 10 years.

The trade value of all provinces in the same trade node is added together to determine the local trade value of the node. This can be seen in the node's window, as well as the ledger and the trade tab.

Multiple merchant bonus

Three merchants steering from Krakow to Baltic Sea, each with a merchant bonus. This tooltip is on the outgoing node, but not the steering button.

In addition to steering outgoing trade value through a particular outgoing link (see below), each merchant applies a boost to the trade value on that link—that is, the steered trade value increases by a percentage as it passes between the two nodes, so that the incoming trade value of the downstream node is larger than the corresponding outgoing trade value of the upstream node. This affects all trade on that link, not just the merchant's country, so multiple merchants can boost trade on the same link. The total boost is:

Merchants	Boost	Cumulative
0	0.0%	0.0%
1	+5.0%	+5.0%
2	+2.5%	+7.5%
3	+1.6%	+9.1%
4	+1.2%	+10.3%
5	+1.0%	+11.3%

Having more than five merchants will not increase the boost further. The boost is modified by the country's trade steering: for example, if the first merchant's country has +20% trade steering the boost from the merchant will be increased to +6.0%. Currently the merchant order is unsorted, so the merchant with the highest trade steering will not necessarily be first.

Total trade value

The total trade value in a trade node is the sum of local trade value and incoming trade value from upstream trade nodes. For details of incoming trade value, see § Transferring trade below.

Trade nodes and power

Each land province in the world belongs to exactly one trade node. The trade value from a province is added to the node's local trade value. In addition, most nodes have one or more other incoming nodes, and one or more other outgoing nodes. In this way all nodes are connected in a global network, with a handful (e.g. California, Siam, and Ethiopia) being origin nodes with nothing upstream of them, and three (English Channel, Genoa, and Venice) being end nodes with nothing downstream of them.

Relative trade power: competition over trade value

Nations use trade power to compete in manipulating the flow of trade value in several ways. The absolute amount of trade power is unimportant; what is important is the relative proportion of trade power wielded by a country and others it is cooperating with, compared to all countries it is competing with.

Each country's trade power is increased by their global trade power modifier for all uses.

Collecting trade

Each country has a main trade city. This is the same as the capital at the start of the game, and usually stays that way. In the trade node that this province belongs to, the country gets an extra +5 trade power and automatically collects trade. With the Wealth of Nations expansion, the main trade city can be changed at the cost of 200 diplomatic power. If the capital and main trade city are the same, moving the capital also moves the main trade city for free.

Countries can also collect trade by sending a merchant. In this case, the country's trade power is reduced by −50%. This is a multiplicative modifier, applied after all other modifiers.

When collecting trade in a node, the country is allocated a portion of the node's total trade value equal to

$\text{Collected value} = \text{Total trade value in node} \times \frac{\text{Trade power in node}}{\text{Total trade power in node}}$

This amount is then multiplied by 1 + the country's trade efficiency, and that number of ducats is added to the country's treasury as trade income.

Each country collecting trade competes with all other countries collecting trade and all countries transferring trade.

Transferring trade

Trade node window, showing the tooltip for trade forwarded out of the node. The cursor is hovering over the red part of the pie chart.

A country with trade power in a node who either has a merchant present and set to steer, or is not collecting there but is collecting in a node somewhere downstream (no matter how many hops away), is transferring. There are two stages to transferring trade:

1. Countries use trade power to increase the share of trade value that leaves the node (outgoing trade value).
2. Countries transferring with merchants use their trade power to increase the share of outgoing trade value that flows into one particular outgoing node.

Pulling trade value forward

All countries transferring trade pool their trade power to pull trade out of the node. The amount of outgoing trade value is equal to

$\text{Outgoing trade value} = \text{Total trade value in node} \times \frac{\sum{\text{Trade power of countries transferring}}}{\sum{\text{Trade power of countries transferring}} + \sum{\text{Trade power of countries collecting}}}$

or, equivalently,

$\text{Outgoing trade value} = \text{Total trade value in node} - \sum{\text{Trade value collected by each country}}$

At this stage, all countries transferring trade cooperate with each other, and compete with those collecting.

Steering trade

Each country transferring with a merchant present selects an outgoing node to steer trade to (the player does this from the trade map mode). All countries steering in a particular direction cooperate with each other, and compete with those steering in other directions as well as those collecting, whereas they neither compete nor cooperate at this stage with countries transferring but not steering. The amount of trade value steered towards a particular node is

$\text{Steered trade value} = \text{Outgoing trade value} \times \frac{\sum{\text{Modified trade power of countries steering to this node}}}{\sum{\text{Modified trade power of all countries steering}}}$

Trade node window and trade map mode. The tooltip (on the steering button) lists countries steering in each direction, their trade power used to steer and trade steering bonus, and the percentage of power used to steer in each direction. Notice the trade power listed in the window for Lithuania, Teutonic Order and Sweden, which is used to pull trade forward, and their power listed in the tootip, which is used for steering and is higher due to their trade steering bonuses.

In this equation, "modified trade power" means the country's trade power multiplied by 1 + its trade steering modifier. If this would be a division by zero (i.e. no trade power is used to steer), it is instead set to

$\text{Steered trade value} = \frac{\text{Transferred trade value}}{\text{Number of outgoing nodes}}$.

In other words, if no one is steering in any direction, trade value is divided equally between all outgoing nodes.

There are two important consequences of this equation:

• Countries that are not steering with a merchant have no influence whatsoever over the direction in which trade flows. They only influence how much trade value leaves the node.
• If the amount of trade power used to steer towards a particular outgoing node is zero, then value of trade steered there is zero (unless it is zero for all outgoing nodes). In other words, if there are merchants steering, but one outgoing node has no merchants steering to it, then that node receives no transferred trade value at all. If only one country is steering, all trade leaving the node goes to the node that country selected, no matter how tiny their trade power is.

Sources of trade power

Provincial trade power

Every province contributes an amount of trade power to its controller's country in the local trade node. The exact amount and relevant calculations can be seen in province view under Trade category. It is determined by the following factors:

	Modifier	Local trade power	Notes
	Birthplace of Colonialism	+5
	Development	+0.2 per point
	Coastal Center of Trade	+10
	Inland Center of Trade	+10
	Important Natural Harbor	+10
	River estuaries	+10	Except the Ganges, (Bengal) Irrawaddy (Burma) and The Nile (Egypt), which give only +5 but are present in two provinces each.
	Sound Toll	+20	Sjælland
	Bosphorus Sound Toll	+10	Constantinople
	Embraced Colonialism	+10%
	Coastal	+25%
	Trade Company	+100%	Requires Wealth of Nations. Effectively less due to the 50% minimum autonomy of non-state provinces.
	Trading Post	+10	Requires Res Publica. One per trade node available only to Merchant Republics.
	Controlled by Burghers	+50%	Requires The Cossacks.
	Mercantilism	+2% per point
	Marketplace	+50%
	Trade Depot	+100%
	Stock Exchange	+125%
	Blockaded	−75%
	Occupied	−50%	Trade power goes to the occupier.
	Under siege	−25%
	Local autonomy	Multiplicative −50% at 100% autonomy	Ignored by Burghers estate (requires The Cossacks).

Provincial trade power modifiers

Certain ideas and policies improve provincial trade power.

	Traditions	Ideas	Bonuses	Policies
+25%	—	Colonial idea 2: Continental Trade Mazovian idea 7: Central Emporium	Mamluk ambition	—
+20%	—	Gujarat Sultanate idea 5: Hub of the Indian Ocean Trade Hanseatic idea 6: Regularized Contributions Wallachian idea 2: Foreign Trade Restriction	—	—
+15%	Tverian traditions	Ainu idea 3: Southern Traders Circassian idea 2: Merchants Of Genoa Client State idea 5: Mercantile Privileges Kanem Bornuan idea 7: Duties on Sahara Trade Malabari idea 5: Control the Inland Yarkandi idea 7: Encourage Tarim Trade	Huron ambition	—
+10%	Kutai traditions Lan Na traditions Pegu traditions Rostov traditions Shirvani traditions Wurzburgian traditions	Espionage idea 3: Vetting Amago idea 5: Dominate the Coastal Trade Andean idea 2: Mountain Roads Network Bremish idea 5: Vegesack Harbor Butuan idea 5: Balangay Golden Horde idea 4: Secure the Trade Routes Kongo idea 5: The Triangle Trade Malvi idea 7: Malwa Opium Orleanaise idea 2: Port of Orleans Sami idea 4: Encourage growth of the Winter Market Savoyard idea 6: Alpine Tolls Silesian idea 6: Hanseatic Ties Spanish idea 5: Treasure Fleet	—	—

Transfers from traders downstream

Ming has 14.1 provincial trade power in the Yumen node. They don't collect here or anywhere downstream, but 20% of their unmodified power transfers to the incoming node Beijing. You see this blue left-facing arrow in nodes not upstream of any collection, but the transfer happens also in collecting and transferring nodes.

Any nation that has at least 10 provincial trade power in the node enjoys the propagation of that power upstream. An amount equivalent to 20% of the nation's provincial trade power is added to the total trade power of that nation in every immediate upstream node, where it is denoted as transfers from traders downstream. Global trade power modifiers do not apply to the amount considered for propagation, but are applied in the upstream node instead.

Age of Reformation ability - Powerful Tradeships bonus (requires Mandate of Heaven):

• +20% Ship tradepower propagation: An amount of 20% × 20% of ship tradepower also added to upstream node.

Trade company

Main article: Trade company

A country that owns a province in a trade node that is not in their home node but is in a trade company region can add it to a trade company. Provinces in trade companies get +100% local trade power. There are 15 trade company regions throughout Asia and Africa. Nodes with trade companies in them count as domestic trade nodes and can be collected at by a merchant without incurring penalties for overextension.

Protect trade

A country may increase its trade power in maritime (non-inland) trade nodes by sending its light ships on Protect Trade mission. Ships can only be sent to protect trade in coastal nodes where the country already has trade power or a merchant. Each light ship increases trade power in the trade node in which they are protecting trade, the amount depending on how advanced it is; higher technology unlocks better light ships. Having the ships out of port for the Protect Trade mission costs −1 sailor per ship per month.

	Name					Description
2	Barque	2	8	10	10	The Barque was a small sailing ship, originally used for trade. Adapting these for warfare provided a smaller and faster alternative to the larger carracks.
9	Caravel	2.5	10	13	10	The caravel was a small, very maneuverable ship which could sail with a high precision on long discovery journeys. Although designs varied, a caravel had a foresail, a square mainsail and lateen mizzen. Its smaller size limited the number of guns on board, but it also meant that this light ship could explore shallow coastal waters and estuaries. Vasco Da Gama, Cabot, Columbus and Magellan used caravels during their late 15th century and early 16th century voyages.
15	Early Frigate	3	12	15	10	With the increasing overseas trade, there was a need for a fast escort vessel to provide safe journey. The early frigates were developed for this. They were smaller, leaner ships of war with one gun deck, and provided protection from piracy in dangerous waters.
19	Frigate	3.5	16	20	10	As time passed, the frigate evolved. It became larger and heavily armed, sometimes with two gun decks. The frigate's combination of speed and firepower meant that it could outrun any ship with more guns and outgun any faster ships. The fleet built by the Commonwealth of England in the 1650s consisted almost exclusively of frigates.
23	Heavy Frigate	4	20	25	10	Two decked vessels normally carrying about 40 guns.
26	Great frigate	5	24	30	10	A larger type of frigate, carrying additional guns.

Some bonuses to ship trade power are:

	Triggers
+33%	Selecting the 'Merchant Navy' Naval Doctrine
+20%	Being in a Trade League
+5%	Per Maneuver skill of the fleet's admiral
+15%	Extortioner admiral trait

	Traditions	Ideas	Bonuses	Policies
+10%	Gujarat Sultanate traditions	Frisian idea 1: Coastal Industry Luzon idea 3: Sino-Philippine Trade	—	—

Supply range

Light ships on protect trade missions can only be sent to trade nodes where the country already has trade power and the supply range is met. The limitation on supply range applies even when naval attrition is removed at diplomatic tech 22. If the trade range permits, a country can send a merchant to a node without any initial trade power and then follow up with light ships protecting trade (as long as these are within supply range). A good way to arrange for a favorable supply range is by gaining fleet basing rights from a nation in the vicinity of the target trade node.

Other sources of trade power

• Merchant Present: The presence of a merchant increases a nation's trade power by +2.
• Main trade port in area: A nation gets additional +5 trade power in its home node.
• Colonial nations provide their overlord with 50% of their trade power.
• With Mare Nostrum, members of a trade league:
  • provide 50% of their trade power to the leader of the league
  • provide an extra +0.025% trade steering to the leader of the league (cumulative with the bonus from other members)
  • get an additional +20% ship trade power.
• Other nations can be persuaded (through diplomacy) or forced (through war) to enter into a Transfer Trade Power relation, which does not count towards the diplomatic relations limit. This transfers one country's trade power to another: a transfer enforced in a truce transfers 50%, while a diplomatically arranged transfer can transfer any amount from zero to 50%. Personal unions and vassals do not transfer trade power to their suzerain.
• With Common Sense, countries that have vassals or marches have a subject interaction for them to divert trade, which transfers 100% of their vassal's trade power, at a cost of +30% liberty desire.

Merchants

Merchants are envoys used to alter the flow of trade value by collecting or steering trade. A merchant must be stationed at a trade node to have any affect and can only travel a distance defined by a country's trade range, which increases with diplomatic technology, idea groups, and national ideas.

Trade with no merchant

In the absence of merchants:

• In the country's home node, the country will collect trade.
• In non-home nodes that are not upstream from any nodes where the country is collecting trade, their trade power does not affect the flow of trade. It still propagates upstream if the country has at least 10 provincial trade power.
• In all other nodes, trade power is used to pull trade forward, increasing the share of trade value transferred. There is no influence on the direction of trade, only the amount transferred.

Merchant actions

Merchants can be sent to a trade node to perform one of two missions (as denoted in game interface):

• Collect from Trade: Use the country's trade power to retain trade in the node, and turn it into income. This gives a bonus +10% trade efficiency in that node.
  • In the country's home node, this also gives a bonus +2 trade power.
  • In other nodes, this gives a multiplicative penalty of −50% trade power.
• Transfer Trade Power: Use the country's trade power to pull trade forward in the trade network, and simultaneously to influence trade to flow preferentially into one of the downstream nodes (see § Steering trade above). The player can choose the direction to steer trade in using the trade map mode. (The name of this mission is a misnomer, as it is trade value that is being steered, not trade power.)

A merchant steering trade contributes +2 trade power in that node and:

• In inland nodes enables the caravan bonus.
• In maritime (non-inland) nodes allows the country to send light ships to protect trade where they otherwise could not due to lacking trade power.

Gaining merchants

Every country has a base of 2 merchants. Permanent means of acquiring more include:

	Traditions	Ideas	Bonuses	Policies
+1	American traditions Bengali traditions Bulgarian traditions Catalan traditions Gujarati Princedom traditions Hormuz traditions Pegu traditions Pskovian traditions	Expansion idea 2: Additional Merchants Plutocratic idea 4: Free Merchants Trade idea 2: Free Trade Trade idea 5: Overseas Merchants Ando idea 4: Trade Expansion Arakanese idea 3: Bay of Bengal Trade Butuan idea 3: Butuan Trade Connections Canadian idea 2: The Hudson Bay Company Candarid idea 1: Genoese Connections Caspian idea 7: Promote Foreign Trade Dithmarscher idea 3: Trade Missions Dutch idea 2: Dutch Trading Spirit Estonian idea 5: Baltic Trade Gujarat Sultanate idea 7: Gujarati Diaspora Descends on Africa Gutnish idea 5: Gutnish Merchant Adventurers Hanseatic idea 2: Strong League Obligations Holstein idea 4: Kieler Umschlag Huron idea 1: Great Lakes Trade Javan idea 4: Pan-Asia Trade Kievan idea 6: Support Local Traders Malabari idea 4: Trade Factors Malayan sultanate idea 1: Indian Ocean Trade Malian idea 6: Seek New Markets for Salt Mogadishan idea 1: Indian Ocean Trade Nepalese Princedom idea 2: Invite Kashmiri Traders Moluccan idea 3: Agents of Trade Novgorod idea 4: Control of the Hanseatic Kontor Omani idea 7: Expansion of Trade Contacts Ouchi idea 4: The Merchants of Hakata City Pattani idea 5: Entrepôt Pomeranian idea 2: Pomeranian Merchants Portuguese idea 4: Encourage the Bandeirantes Sami idea 3: Regulate Trade with the Southerners Shirvani idea 7: Merchants of Baku Shoni idea 4: Nagasaki City Sinhalese idea 3: Pearl of the Indian Ocean South Indian idea 7: Merchant Capitalists Sumatran idea 5: Merchants of The Indian Ocean Tumbuka idea 7: Welcome Swahili Merchants Yemeni idea 6: Promoting the Yemeni Trade Ports	Full Trade Focus Ashanti ambition Clanricarde ambition Galician ambition Gond ambition Interlacustrine ambition Ionian ambition Odoyev ambition	Aristocratic-Trade: Trade Connections Policy Defensive-Trade: The Armed Neutrality Act

• Merchant republics have +1 merchant.
• Some events can give a national modifier that temporarily provides +1 merchant.
• The “East India Trade Company” decision gives +1 merchant. This requires being a country with a European capital and the Global Trade instutition embraced, at least two ports, and one province in the East Asian Trade Ports region owned.
  • The Netherlands has “Found Oost-Indische Compagnie” instead, which has different requirements, but likewise gives an extra merchant.
• Countries that control one of a number of trade nodes have the “Confirm Thalassocracy” decision (requires all maritime ideas and control of several specific trade nodes), which gives +1 merchant.
• With Wealth of Nations, a country gets +1 merchant for each trade company they control with the majority of the provincial trade power in a region.
• With El Dorado, a country gets +1 merchant for each colonial nation with at least 10 provinces.
• Winning a parliament debate "Charter Trade Company" provides +1 merchant for 10 years.
• With The Cossacks, the Tengri religion with syncretic faith Zoroastrian provides +1 merchant.
• With Cradle of Civilization, Sunni countries are able to invite a Shafi'i scholar for 20 years, providing +1 merchant.

Trade range

Merchants can only reach nodes at this distance from a cored province (or a cored province of a subject nation or a nation granting Naval Basing Rights). The distance is measured to the central province of the node, visible on the trade map mode. Base trade range is increased by Diplomatic technology (100 at tech 1 and 400 at tech 32) and some decisions and ideas.

• Trade Range is increased by certain ideas and policies.

	Traditions	Ideas	Bonuses	Policies
+33%	—	Ryukyuan idea 4: Maritime Commercialism	—	—
+30%	Portuguese traditions	—	—	—
+25%	Swahili traditions	Trade idea 3: Merchant Adventures	—	—
+20%	—	Ayutthayan idea 5: Promotion of Trading links Gujarati Princedom idea 7: Extend Trade Routes to Africa Gujarat Sultanate idea 2: Jain Connections Kono idea 6: Trade With Continental Asia Malabari idea 1: Merchants of Southern India Mesoamerican idea 7: Obsidian and Jade Mogadishan idea 1: Indian Ocean Trade Pacific Northwest idea 2: Dugout Canoes South Indian idea 1: Merchants of Southern India	—	Naval-Exploration: Skilled Cartographers
+15%	Traditions of The Hansa Sumatran traditions	—	—	—
+10%	—	Dutch idea 2: Dutch Trading Spirit Mamluk idea 1: Red Sea Trade	—	—

Winning a parliament debate "Charter Trade Company" provides +20% trade range for 10 years.

Trade policies

A nation can set a trade policy in any node where they have a merchant present. There is no cost to setting this policy and it can be changed every 12 months. Policies available to all nations are:

• Maximize Profits: +5% Trade Power (Default policy).
• Hostile Trading: +25% Spy network construction with all other nations with their home node or a merchant located there.
• Improve inland routes: +10% Siege ability and +1 Artillery bonus versus forts for all provinces in the node (Only possible with more than 50% share of the trade power in the node).
• Establish communities: +15% Improve relations with all other nations with their home node or a merchant located there.

There is also a trade policy exclusively available to Muslim nations:

• Propagate religion: A religious centre will be established in the node, automatically spreading the religion of the merchant's nation through the node. Can only be activated when the trade node is in a trade company region, and with a 50% or more share of the trade power in said node.

Trade modifiers

Global trade power modifier

Global trade power modifier increases trade power for nearly all purposes. In other words, it is applied before any other, specialised increases to trade power. The only time it does not apply is to provincial trade power before propagating it upstream.

Certain ideas and policies improve global trade power.

	Traditions	Ideas	Bonuses	Policies
+20%	Italian (cU) traditions	Expansion idea 7: Competitive Merchants Trade idea 1: Shrewd Commerce Practice Aragonese idea 5: Chartered Merchant Companies	Gujarat Sultanate ambition	—
+15%	—	Danziger idea 2: Vistula River Trade Hamburger idea 1: Hanseatic City Romanian idea 6: Phanariote Traders	Date ambition	—
+10%	Münster traditions Traditions of Theodoro Venetian traditions	Antemoro idea 6: Strengthen control over the Slave Trade Arabian idea 5: Bedouin Traders Arawak idea 3: Orinoco Trade Butuan idea 2: Northern Nusantara Byzantine idea 5: Byzantine Merchant Class Cham idea 3: South Indian Connections Chimu idea 6: Specialized Economy Deccan idea 3: Privileges for Foreign Traders Gutnish idea 4: Rebuild the Trade Hanseatic idea 1: The End of the Victual Brothers Holstein idea 6: The Trade of Two Seas Hormuz idea 5: Maintain Trading Monopoly Indian Sultanate idea 5: Equality Under the Law Mesoamerican idea 2: Altepetl Milanese idea 6: Merchant Princes Mogadishan idea 3: East African Gold Trade Najdi idea 3: Ships of the Desert Norwegian idea 5: Seize the Opportunity Ogasawara idea 6: Improving the Nakasendo Pagarruyung idea 2: Gold Trade Portuguese idea 3: Feitorias Pskovian idea 6: Arts and Crafts of Pskov Rassid idea 3: Coffea Arabica Ruthenian idea 4: East and West Songhai idea 1: Gold To Salt Trade Sulawesi idea 6: Entrepot of Trade Tyrconnell idea 2: The Fisher King Vijayanagar idea 1: Promotion of Trade West African idea 3: Kola Nuts Yemeni idea 2: Coffea Arabica	Berber ambition Cebu ambition Jaunpuri ambition Malabari ambition Pomeranian ambition Swahili ambition	Diplomatic-Expansion: Commercial Embassies Exploration-Innovative: Benign Neglect
+5%	—	Mamluk idea 1: Red Sea Trade National idea 4: Contract Law Novgorod idea 4: Control of the Hanseatic Kontor	—	—

• Each colonial nation (of at least 10 provinces) provides +5% global trade power to its overlord.
• Prestige provides between −15% and +15% global trade power.
• Stability provides between −3% and +3% global trade power.
• Power projection provides between 0 and +20% global trade power.
• Reformed religion Fervor power Trade provides +10% global trade power modifier (requires Wealth of Nations).
• Parliament debate "Reduce Trade Regulations" provides +5% global trade power modifier for 10 years (requires Common Sense).

Merchant Bonus

If no merchant is currently collecting outside the home node, then the home node receives a 10% bonus to trade power for each merchant steering trade there. This is a big decision making analysis depending on whether one should collect in other nodes or only steer trade.

Domestic trade power

A country's home node and nodes where a nation has the highest provincial trade power are considered domestic. Overseas provinces and trade company provinces can still be domestic. Domestic trade power refers to trade power in these nodes.

Certain ideas and policies improve domestic trade power.

	Traditions	Ideas	Bonuses	Policies
+25%	Muiscan traditions Korean traditions	Ashikaga idea 4: Tosen-Bugyo Beloozero idea 4: Northern Trade Hungarian idea 6: Strengthen the Towns Iroquois idea 3: Keepers of the Eastern Door Lur idea 2: Jadda-ye Atabak Timurid idea 6: Control of the Silk Road Transoxianian idea 6: Entrepôt of the Silk Road Zambezi idea 3: Control of the Zambezi Trade	—	—
+20%	—	Ando idea 2: Ainu Trade Mutapan idea 6: Controlling the Mutapan Riches Offaly idea 3: River Trade Ouchi idea 2: Korean Trade Ragusan idea 2: Center of Trade Trebizondian idea 6: Terminus of the Silk Road	Kutai ambition	—
+15%	—	Leinster idea 2: The Black Rent Medri Bahri idea 6: Promote the Red Sea Trade Munster idea 1: North Sea Fishermen Otomo idea 4: Welcoming the Nanban Trade Utsunomiya idea 3: Barrier of Shirakawa	—	—
+10%	Afghan traditions Danziger traditions Hausan traditions Kono traditions K'iche traditions	Baluch idea 5: Control the Overland Trade Delhian idea 6: Protect the Grand Trunk Road French ducal idea 1: Men of Trade Frisian idea 7: Brothers in Arms German idea 2: Frühlings− und Herbstmesse Granada idea 4: Strait of Gibraltar Gujarati Princedom idea 2: Establish New Trading Ports Isshiki idea 1: Shugo of Tango Hejazi idea 2: Red Sea Trade Pacific Northwest idea 4: Potlatch Feast Shan idea 4: Control of the Gem Trade Siberian idea 2: Siberian Fur Trade Sistani idea 5: Overland Trade Routes Telugu idea 7: Encourage Coromandel Trade	Butuan ambition Shoni ambition Sinhalese ambition Yarkandi ambition	—

Winning a parliament debate "Restricts Imports" provides +5% domestic trade power bonus for 10 years.

Trade power abroad

Trade nodes that are not domestic are considered abroad and will suffer from over-extension penalties. Trade power abroad refers to trade power in these nodes. Overextension imposes a penalty of −1% trade power abroad per percentage point.

Trade power abroad receives the following bonuses:

	Traditions	Ideas	Bonuses	Policies
+30%	—	—	—	Plutocratic-Trade: Trade Kontor Network
+15%	—	—	—	Aristocratic-Trade: Trade Connections Policy Naval-Trade: Fortified Trading Posts
+10%	Hadramhi traditions Hormuz traditions Ragusan traditions	Couronian idea 3: Duchy of Mercantilism Genoese idea 3: Rebuilding Genoese Trade Hosokawa idea 3: Sakai City Ionian idea 6: Entrepôt of the Eastern Mediterranean	—	—

Winning a parliament debate "Charter Trade Company" provides +5% trade power abroad bonus for 10 years.

Mercantilism

Mercantilism provides a bonus to local trade power and embargo efficiency, but it does so at the cost of increased liberty desire in colonial subjects.

Mercantilism provides the following effects (per percentage point):

• +2% Local trade power
• +0.5% Embargo efficiency
• +0.25% Liberty desire (in colonial subjects)

While most nations start the campaign with a base value of 10% mercantilism, a handful of nations begin with a higher starting base of 25%:

• Aachen
• Bremen
• Danzig
• England
• Florence
• Frankfurt
• Genoa
• Gotland
• Hamburg
• Lübeck
• Lucca
• Memmingen
• Novgorod
• Nuremberg
• Pisa
• Pskov
• Ragusa
• Ravensburg
• Siena
• Tuscany
• Ulm
• Venice

The button ‘Promote Mercantilism’ on the trade tab increases mercantilism by 1% for 100 diplomatic power (only with Mare Nostrum DLC enabled).

Certain events, decisions and missions give permanent increases or decreases to mercantilism, some of these are:

• +10% English Designate Calais as The Staple Port decision
• +7% ×2 Ayutthayan Prasat T'ang's Economic Reforms and Phrabat Somdet Phra Chairachathirat events.
• +5% Chinese technology group Close Foreign Trade decision
• +5% Revolution disaster event The Revolution is here
• +3% Republican in exchange for -2 republican tradition Freetraders winning debates choice.
• +2% Genoese missions
• +2% Immediate effect of starting parliament debate "Restrict Imports" (with Common Sense DLC active)
• +1% Theocratic The Merchant's Son event
• +1% Catholic nation in exchange for -50 Papal influence.
• +1% Anglican nation in exchange for -100 Church Power.
• −3% Republican in exchange for +2 republican tradition Freetraders winning debates choice.

Trade steering

Trade steering is applied as a multiplicative bonus to trade power used for steering when determining which outgoing node trade is steered to.

Trade steering is increased by certain ideas and policies.

	Traditions	Ideas	Bonuses	Policies
+33%	—	Omani idea 1: Local Merchant Preference	—	—
+25%	Mamluk traditions	Trade idea 6: Trade Manipulation Navarran idea 5: Cross-Pyrenean Trade Pomeranian idea 3: Northern Ports	—	Defensive-Trade: The Armed Neutrality Act
+20%	Kutai traditions Ryukyuan traditions	Aragonese idea 3: Mediterranean trade East Frisian idea 7: The Emden Company Huron idea 3: Birchbark Canoes Mapuche idea 4: Mapuche Weaving Pattani idea 2: South China Sea Trade Pskovian idea 7: Pskov Before All Others Shimazu idea 6: Okinawa Trade	Danziger ambition Norwegian ambition Orissan ambition Transylvanian ambition	Trade-Expansion: Encouragement of Merchant Navy
+15%	Somali traditions	Arabian idea 1: Indian Ocean Trade Canadian idea 6: Legacy of the Empire Luxembourg idea 3: The Moselle Trade Ouchi idea 5: Mercantile Diplomacy	—	—
+10%	Breton traditions Clanricarde traditions Traditions of The Hansa Krakowian traditions Malayan sultanate traditions Medri Bahri traditions Orleanaise traditions	Croatian idea 2: Pearl of the Adriatic Granada idea 4: Strait of Gibraltar Javan idea 4: Pan-Asia Trade Silesian idea 4: Raubritter Sulawesi idea 1: Intra-Asian Trade Network	—	—
+5%	—	National idea 6: Mercantile Status	—	—

• Each point of navy tradition increases trade steering by 1%.
• With Mare Nostrum, the leader of a trade league gets +2.5% trade steering per member of the league.

Caravan power

Note: The values are displayed under country modifiers of the government interface even without Wealth of Nations DLC, but without effect in the trade nodes.

A nation steering from, towards or collecting (only in main trading port) an inland trade node receives bonus trade power. This bonus, called caravan power, is a percentage equal to total development ÷ 3, to a maximum of +50.

Caravan power is increased by certain ideas and policies. Can exceed 50 with these bonus.

	Traditions	Ideas	Bonuses	Policies
+33%	—	—	—	Naval-Influence: The Cooperation Act
+25%	—	Plutocratic idea 6: Free Cities Trade idea 7: Fast Negotiations	—	—
+20%	Air traditions Baden traditions Dhundhari traditions Lorraine traditions Maravi traditions Sadiyan traditions	Berber idea 3: Trans−Saharan Trade Caspian idea 4: Protect the Caspian Trade Dali idea 2: The Tea-Horse Route Hausan idea 4: Sarakunan Kasuwa Khivan idea 3: Oasis of Merv Nizhny Novgorod idea 1: At The Confluence Of Giants Odoyev idea 7: Strengthen the Oka River Trade Persian idea 4: Improve the Silk Road Shirvani idea 5: Caspian Trade Songhai idea 7: Trans-Sahara Trade Tumbuka idea 5: Inter-African Trade Yarkandi idea 1: Northern Silk Road	—	—
+15%	Pskovian traditions	Kangra idea 5: Strengthen the Mountain Trade Offaly idea 1: The Gallowglasses	—	—
+10%	—	Nubian idea 4: Encourage Long-Distance Trade	—	—

• Merchant republics gain +33% bonus to Caravan power.

Trade efficiency

Trade efficiency is added as a bonus modifier to trade income. Base trade efficiency is defined by diplomatic technology but it can also be increased by certain ideas and policies (capped at +200%).

	Diplomatic technology
+2%	level 3
+4%	level 5
+6%	level 10
+8%	level 13
+10%	level 16
+12%	level 20
+14%	level 24
+16%	level 28
+18%	level 30
+20%	level 32

	National modifiers
+20%	Diplomatic technology: Ahead of time
+10%	ruler with ‘Entrepreneur’ personality Constitutional Republic Dutch Republic Free City Trading City Trader as advisor Zoroastrian religion Njord deity ( Norse religion) Surya deity ( Hindu religion) Fervent focus on trade ( Reformed religion) Tengri religion syncretic faith Sunni
+10%	Parliament debate: Reduce trade regulations for 10 years. with discovered ‘East Indian Trade Route’
+20% −10%	Burghers estate (depends on influence and loyalty)
−5%	for every embargo against non-rival countries
−10%	ruler with ‘Indulgent’ personality during the Aristocratic Coup disaster

	Local modifiers
+10%	merchant present

	Traditions	Ideas	Bonuses	Policies
+20%	—	—	—	Trade-Administrative: Importation Act Trade-Quality: Cloth Quality Edict
+15%	—	Tuscan idea 5: Porto Franco	Dutch ambition	—
+10%	Ando traditions Aragonese traditions Beloozero traditions Butuan traditions Canadian traditions Danziger traditions Genoese traditions Irish traditions Italian traditions Kongo traditions Krakowian traditions Neapolitan traditions Ragusan traditions Shoni traditions Sinhalese traditions Venetian traditions Württemberger traditions Yarkandi traditions	Trade idea 4: National Trade Policy Air idea 1: Taghlamt Al-Haasa idea 5: Entrepot of India Anatolian idea 5: Caravanserais Arakanese idea 7: Arakanese Trade Contracts Bahmani idea 4: Karimis Bengali idea 2: Ganges-Brahmaputra Confluence Bengal Sultanate idea 1: Combat Coastal Piracy Beninese idea 7: Regulation of Trade Berber idea 3: Trans−Saharan Trade Bremish idea 4: Free Imperial City of Bremen Burgundian idea 5: Integrate the Towns in the Estates General Butua idea 7: Vashambadzi Carib idea 1: River Trade Cham idea 6: Agarwood Chickasaw idea 5: Slave Raids Circassian idea 3: Circassian Grain Trade Clanricarde idea 1: The Fourteen Tribes East Frisian idea 6: Autonomous Burghers English idea 4: The Navigation Acts Gelre idea 2: Hanseatic Towns Greek idea 5: Control the Mediterranean Trade Gujarat Sultanate idea 6: Foreign Merchants set up Factories Hadramhi idea 4: Encouraging the Incense Trade Hormuz idea 1: A Vast Emporium Imagawa idea 2: Control of Tokaido Ionian idea 4: Gate to the Adriatic Javan idea 7: Terracotta Banking System Kaffan idea 7: Trade Reform Kazani idea 7: End Western Domination Khivan idea 5: Amu Darya Khmer idea 4: River Trade Khorasani idea 7: Protect the Caravan Routes Kongolese idea 7: The Ivory Trade Kutai idea 1: Earliest Indic State Ladakh idea 7: Invite Far-Away Traders Laotian idea 6: Southern Silk Road Malagasy idea 6: Control of the Foreign Traders Malian idea 7: West African Slave Trade Malvi idea 3: Protect the Delhi-Surat Trade Route Mamluk idea 7: Monopoly Ports Medri Bahri idea 1: Kings of the Sea Ming idea 5: Restore the Salt Monopoly Mogadishan idea 5: Mogadishan Currency Moldavian idea 7: Moldavian Trade Moluccan idea 1: The Spice Islands Mutapan idea 6: Curva Nizhny Novgorod idea 6: Open Up The River Trade Omani idea 4: Port Security Improvements Orissan idea 6: Encourage the Salt Trade Ottoman idea 6: Tulip Period Pegu idea 1: Riches of Pegu Permian idea 4: Great Perm Polotskian idea 5: Trade Hub Pomeranian idea 6: Dominate the Baltic Portuguese idea 7: Open up the Guilds Pueblo idea 4: Cotton Weaving Punjabi idea 2: Encourage Indo−Persian Trade Rajput idea 7: Rajput Trading Houses Rassid idea 7: Secure the Yemeni Trading Monopolies Rostov idea 4: Entrepot of Russia Ryukyuan idea 5: Sign Trade Agreements Sadiyan idea 5: Dihang Samtskhe idea 5: Protect the Trade Routes Siddi idea 6: Konkan Trade Silesian idea 5: Via Regia Sligonian idea 1: Promote the Trade Somali idea 5: Indian Ocean Trade Sukhothai idea 3: Sawankalok Ware Sumatran idea 1: Reliance on Trade Swahili idea 1: Indian Ocean Trade Tapuian idea 6: Open Trade Routes Tarascan idea 3: Merchant-Officials Theodorian idea 4: Port Avlita Tirhuti idea 2: Gateway to India Tverian idea 1: Tverian Merchants Utrecht idea 4: The Vaartse Rijn Venetian idea 3: Stato da Màr Vindhyan idea 6: Diamond Mines Yemeni idea 3: Control of the Red Sea	Andean ambition Couronian ambition Estonian ambition Flemish ambition Gujarati Princedom ambition Gutnish ambition Ambition of The Hansa Kono ambition Navarran ambition Ouchi ambition Pagarruyung ambition Pattani ambition South Indian ambition Sulawesi ambition Tumbuka ambition	Innovative-Trade: The Banking System Maritime-Offensive: Naval Convoy System Naval-Administrative: Harbor Administration Naval-Trade: Fortified Trading Posts Offensive-Trade: The Anti-Smuggling Act Trade-Economic: The Statute of Monopolies Trade-Expansion: Encouragement of Merchant Navy
+5%	Huron traditions Portuguese traditions	German idea 2: Frühlings- und Herbstmesse Mesoamerican idea 7: Obsidian and Jade West African idea 6: The Great River	—	—

Embargo

Embargoing is an option in the diplomacy screen that allows a country to leverage their trade power against another nation's, decreasing that nation's trade power in shared trade nodes. The trade screen shows icons for each nation embargoed and those embargoing your nation. Placing the mouse over each nation icon breaks down the penalties in each shared trade node.

Embargoing a country has the following effects:

• The defending country suffers a penalty to trade power in all trade nodes that both countries have power in. The base magnitude of the penalty is half of the attacker's trade power share in the trade node before the embargo. This penalty stacks multiplicatively with other modifiers.
• The defending country's opinion of the attacking country is modified by −15. The defender also gains a Trade Dispute casus belli against the attacker unless the embargo is mutual.
• The attacking country's trade efficiency suffers a −5% penalty unless the defender is a rival.
• Embargoes do not count against the Diplomatic Relation limit.
• The attacking country gains up to +10 power projection if the target is a rival, the amount depending on how severely the embargo affects the target's trade.

Winning a parliament debate "Issue Letters of Marque" provides +10% embargo efficiency for 10 years.

Each point of mercantilism provides +0,5% embargo efficiency, capped at +50%.

Embargo Efficiency can be increased by the following:

	Traditions	Ideas	Bonuses	Policies
+25%	—	Espionage idea 6: Privateers	—	Offensive-Trade: The Anti-Smuggling Act
+10%	—	Betsimisaraka idea 2: Pirate Ports Cebu idea 5: 'The Place for Trading' Cypriot idea 7: Raid Turkish Commerce Malagasy idea 3: Pirate Ports Mindanao idea 7: Pirates of Mindanao Montenegrin idea 4: Balkan Gusars Naxian idea 3: Archipelago Of Opportunities Pomeranian idea 1: Legacy of Pirates	—	—

Privateering

Main article: Naval warfare#Privateering

Any fleet that contains light ships can be sent on a privateering mission to any trade node within trade range. The fleet will hoist the Jolly Roger and add the trade power of its light ships (plus a bonus) to a dummy "pirate" nation in the node, thus reducing the trade power share of everyone in the node – including their controller, though a portion of the trade value lost this way is returned to the controller, listed in accounts as "spoils of war". This effectively behaves as though they are collecting. Unlike protecting trade, privateers can be sent to nodes a nation has no power in, making it a way of weakening the nation's enemies or gaining revenue from nodes it can't touch otherwise. Privateering a rival's trade generates power projection.

Hunt pirates

Main article: Naval warfare#Hunt pirates

This mission is available to fleets which contain at least one ship that isn't a transport. Fleets containing heavy ships or light ships may hunt pirates in any non-inland trade node; however, fleets containing only galleys (as well as fleets which are a mixture of galleys and transports) can only hunt pirates in nodes where all nearby sea provinces are inland seas.

Pirate-hunting fleets reduce the trade power taken by the dummy "pirates" nation in the chosen trade node by reducing their privateer efficiency. They do not actually damage or take damage from any ships.

See also

• Trade nodes
• Trade goods
• Trade strategy
• Production
• Tax

References

Economy