[1.13] Things Fall Apart
Things Fall Apart is all about making colonization a vital part of the second half of the game, instead of it being mostly done by 1875.
1. Use "No Tiny Enclaves" to get rid of collections of slave forts in West Africa that never amounted to being used as bases for major colonial expansion. Click on that decision on 1/1/1836.
2. Right after the NTE decision, click on the TFA_starter. That will give a mostly defensive military bonus to African states that will help them to repulse outsiders as long as the modifier is active. It will apply to the organized nations. Algerian states have less of a modifier, but they will still inflict many defeats on the French, don’t you worry!
3. A history file will apply modifiers that inhibit colonization across the continent. The modifiers have icons that correspond to the kind of tech that will make them no longer apply.
4. The history file will also apply harsh penalties on existing French and Portuguese colonies in Africa. Starting in 1837, any state or colony taken by a non-African power will have the penalties apply. In mixed-ownership states, the penalty applies because the colonizers are ranging far and wide to loot the land of its wealth. This means Angoche, Gaza, and the North Angola part of Kongo will be heavily impacted – Angoche may well become almost depopulated. This, I feel, is overall in accord with the brutality of colonization in Africa.
5. After the French conquer Algeria, some not-so-harsh-but-still-harsh penalties will attach to their holdings in Algeria. The penalties will also impact Sahara and East Sahara because, again, the colonists ranged far and wide in their horrors and atrocities.
6. The NTE mod also unifies Ethiopia. That nation stays strong through the whole game. Attack it at your risk. You might have better luck bringing it around through diplomacy.
7. In 1878, an event happens for the Super El Niño of that year. Historically, it drastically weakened the African polities, leaving them vulnerable to European attack. The event removes the defensive modifiers for African states. Add in the techs that the Europeans will have by then, and around 1880 or so, the continent will cave in dramatically.
I hope to add more flavor events in the future, and I even have an idea for hiring explorers, missionaries, and other such "men on the scene" to enhance colonization efforts. But, for now, I have a mod that fixes the glaring shortcomings of the Victoria 3 colonization system and it’s good enough for sharing with the community. Colonization will now be pushed forward to the second half of the game, bringing back that narrative pacing element we had in Victoria 2.
