Victoria 3: How To Colonization [Complete Guide]

Creating colonies is a powerful action that you can take in Victoria 3. The mechanics of colonization are reflective of how it used to be historical. The game has succeeded in portraying a realistic depiction of colonization. Here is everything you need to know about how to colonize in Victoria 3!

Requirements For Colonization

For you to successfully understand how to colonize Victoria 3, you need to understand a few things. Colonization only becomes available after you have put in the research in the Colonization Technology. This is part of the technology tree. It is a tier 1 technology, so it is not that hard to access this technology. Furthermore, countries like Great Britain, which are established powers, already have access to this technology.

If you start off with such a country, you don’t have to worry about unlocking this skill, and you can move straight to colonization. In case your country doesn’t have this technology available, you can invest innovation into this skill tree and work towards colonizing other countries. Once you have access to this technology, you are all set to create colonies!

Creating Colonies

Players can choose to create colonies in strategic regions where they have declared an interest. It is important to note that within the regions that you have an interest in, you can pick a state region where a decentralized nation is controlling the state. After deciding upon the area that you want to colonize, you can pick one of the provinces in that country to serve as ground zero for your colonization. 

In case you do not have an interest in any strategic region, you can easily do so. Head over to the diplomacy tab and scroll down. You will see an option to declare an interest group. The locations that are green are the ones that are available for you to declare an interest in.  Once you declare your interest, that region will change its color to blue. You can have a maximum of 20 interest groups at a time. 

You should keep in mind that colonizing a state region doesn’t mean that other competing powers cannot create their own colonies. They can, and this leads to a very complicated situation. The borders are ambiguous, and the states are split within themselves. That is why it is recommended to colonize an entire area instead. 

Process Of Colonization

To start off, head over to the policies tab on the left. Go to the law section and navigate your way toward the economy laws tab. Over there, you will see a colonial affairs option. Click on it, and it will open another menu. Under this menu, you have two main options. You can choose to do the following:

• Colonial Resettlement
• Colonial Exploitation

Colonial Resettlement

In colonial resettlement, the colonies were established to provide land to the settlers from the country’s incorporated states. You need to have interest groups that back this decision in order to perform it.

Colonial Exploitation

In colonial exploitation, colonies are established. The main purpose of this is to exploit the area for its natural resources and cheap labor. Similar to the other option, you need to have the backing of at least one interest group. 

After Colonization

Once you have established a colony using the Establish Colony Action that becomes available to you, there is little you need to do. The colony will maintain itself. Furthermore, it will expand on its own to other decentralized locations in the same state you declared an interest. Here are a few things that you should know regarding colonies:

Growth

The rate at which your colonies grow is colonial growth. There are two major factors that decide this. One is by the incorporated population itself. The second is by the Colony Growth Generation Speed. You can change this multiplier by how much money you invest in your colonial affairs. Another factor that may affect the growth rate is the local conditions in the state that you colonized. 

Unrest

When your colony is new and it is in its phase of growth, there is a high chance that the neighboring decentralized nations will make a play to reclaim their native land. This will create tension and unrest in your colonies. Usually, it is not possible for the locals to overthrow their colonizers. This is because they are much less advanced and usually weaker than the colonizers. 

Tension does decrease on its own, but usually, it will grow if left unchecked. To manage this situation, you need to make such colonial laws that the locals are happy. 

Summary

The actions you take to colonize a region will reflect on the state itself. If you choose a lowly populated area to colonize, the population density will increase due to the migration attraction effect. You will also have to manage the unrest and tension in your colonies.

Once colonies have been established, you can exploit them for their natural resources. You can construct ports and railways to transfer the raw materials back to your center of operations. 

If you are wondering where to start colonizing, East Africa is a perfect candidate. It is rich in resources, and you can also use the region for its cheap labor. You won’t be facing much resistance from this region either. 

This has been our guide on how to colonize in Victoria 3. Did you find the guide helpful? What region do you have an interest in? How did your colonization go? Let us know all about it in the comments below! 

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