How To Colonise In Victoria 3

Learning how to Colonise in Victoria 3 may not make you the nicest nation, but it will open up even more possibilities for population and resource exploitation, allowing you to increase your production of goods and consequently your GDP. Colonialism is a horrific blot on the history of mankind, but Victoria 3 seeks to present an accurate representation of the world during the Industrial Revolution, warts and all. This means that you have the freedom to colonise decentralised nations across the planet, and while this will negatively impact the people of the nation you colonise, it can benefit your empire greatly. So, if you want to learn how to colonise in Victoria 3, read on. 

• Why not also take a look at how to increase Legitimacy in Victoria 3, which covers how to make sure you can pass laws as quickly as possible. 

How To Colonise In Victoria 3

Before you can just go and set up a colony in a different nation, you will need to meet some specific criteria that give you the means to begin colonising, such as researching the correct technology and setting up the right laws. Below, we'll bullet point the general steps you need to take, before expanding on each point further down:

• Research the Colonization technology. 
• Enact the Colonial Resettlement or Colonial Exploitation laws to enable the Colonial Affairs Institution. 
• Declare interest in a strategic region that can be colonised. 
• Use the 'Establish Colony' action to colonise land.
• Wait for your colony to be established and grow.  

The first step you will need to take if you want to colonise in Victoria 3, is researching the Colonization technology in the Society Technology Tree. This unlocks the two laws that specifically relate to colonising, and lets you put at least two points into the Colonial Affairs Institution. To put more points into this Institution, you will need the Quinine, Civilising Mission, and Malaria Prevention technologies, which allow for an additional point each. 

The next step is to enact one of the two laws that allow for colonisation, which will also enable the Colonial Affairs Institution. Colonial Resettlement allows you to establish colonies to provide land to your population, while Colonial Exploitation specifically lets you establish colonies to exploit the land's natural resources and utilise cheap labour from the native population. 

If you aren't sure how to pass laws in Victoria 3, the linked guide has a comprehensive breakdown, but in short, you will need to make sure whichever interest group in government endorses one of the colonisation laws. Once you have passed one of the laws, check the Politics Institutions screen to check if Colonial Affairs has been enabled. 

For the next step, select the 'Diplomatic Lens' button on the menu bar at the bottom of the screen, and under the 'Regional Actions' tab, select 'Declare Interests.' This will allow you to declare your interest in a strategic region that you don't own, signalling to the world that you intend to get involved there in some form. If there is any land which is highlighted green, you will be able to declare your interest there. 

After declaring your interest, you will be able to select the 'Establish Colony' button, which is next to the 'Declare Interests' action. This will highlight all the decentralised nations on the planet which have the potential to be colonised. The region you've declared interest in will have nations highlighted in green, allowing you to click them and begin setting up a colony. 

You'll know you've done it correctly, as a timer will appear over the nation telling you how long it will take to colonise. This is based on your overall colonial growth, which is a measure of how fast you can colonise land. This can be increased by putting more points into the Colonial Affairs Institution, and by increasing your overall population, as every one million people in your population increases colonial growth by 0.10. 

That's all for our walkthrough of how to colonise in Victoria 3, and now you should be able to establish colonies and increase your GDP.

Make sure to also take a look at how to increase GDP in Victoria 3, which is vital for growing as a nation.