Italy Megacampaign: Part 13: 1586-1598: Italian Unification

I finally figured out how that new trade company investment stuff works. It's actually really powerful. 300 gold to get +2 trade power per province in a whole state. Doesn't sound like that much, but that's just base, so +100% trade company region, +25% coastal, +100% from 50 mercantilism, +10% from colonialism institution. So for 300 gold, if it affects 3 provinces, I'll get about 20 province trade power.

Then province trade power gets more bonuses applied to it. End result is that for very low investment I got myself another merchant. And two merchants are now spreading Orthodox faith in West and South Africa. What I didn't get is much gold, as best I can do is transfer to Sevilla, where Spain will steal most of that trade.

I got into small fight with the Mamluks, expanding my marches.

Then I finally got the rest of Naples. France was being obnoxious again, so I made them release Toulouse.

Then a few minor colonial fights with Kongo and Oyo. I have provinces all over the place, but zero provinces outside trade company or colonial regions, not counting the homelands of Italy, Balkans, Anatolia, and North Africa.

Netherlands rebelled against Burgundy. In an interesting development, Burgundy demanded Netherlands to be disbanded into 5 separate countries.

In spite of elections, they same dynasty keeps ruling. Lodovico Boromeo inherited after his father Ferdinando, and even named CN in Mississippi delta "Ferdinandia".

Since I wanted to start closing things before coming tag switch, I console-traded with Spain - 83dev of Italian islands, for 83dev of Tunisia and Tripoli. It's about equal value. All very well developed on both sides, Spain will need 1 not 3 culture slots, and it can transfer Tunis trade to Seville, but it can't transfer Genoa trade. It feels like both of us benefit here.

Then I console changed Savoie's culture from Piedmontese to Occitan, since I'm not sure how they'd keep their culture after being separated from Italians by impassable mountains for so long. And I tag switched to a few countries and gave them expansion ideas, as seriously, someone should do some colonizing. Great Britain, Burgundy, Provence, Denmark, Sweden, Toulouse, Frisland got them. Toulouse soon lost all its coastline to Provence, so maybe that isn't going to work all that well.

All that left just one province to go - South Tirol. HRE would not part with it for any amount of money, so I had to take it by force.

Awkwardly Commonwealth is allied with HRE emperor Burgundy, so I'd need some shenanigans if I don't want to break that alliance.

Oh and for funsies game decided to take away my merchant from some event, and removed one from Venice without informing me. So like thousand gold per year just disappeared like that. Sometimes Paradox games...

Borders following Sicily-Tunisia trade and another Spanish-French War

Transoxiana, Timurids, Afghanistan, and Qara Qoyunlu all doing well is unusual