Spanish (Age of Empires II)

The Spanish are a Western European civilization in Age of Empires II: The Conquerors. During the game's timeframe, they had recently grown from the Visigothic kingdom of Asturias to become Christian factions in the medieval Hispanic peninsula. They are classified as an offensive civilization with strong naval, cavalry and gunpowder units.

Overview
The Spanish were best known for exploring much of the world across the Atlantic and for being among the first Europeans to establish colonies along the Caribbean and the Americas. They were also known for defeating powerful Amerindian empires of the New World and introducing Christianity to the region as a result of their powerful navy and superior weaponry. To reflect this achievement, Spanish gunpowder units fire faster and their Cannon Galleons fire more accurately with a Ballistics-like effect and the cannonballs travels faster (Ballistics research not required). As a result, the Spanish navy is the most versatile in the game, as they have access to all naval units and technologies.Their superior weaponry and metallurgy is represented by the fact that their Blacksmith technologies requires no gold. In addition, they can train more than one unique unit, namely the Conquistador and the Missionary which are all mounted units.

The Conquistador is nothing more than a mounted hand cannoneer with higher hit points and speed. However, it has lower attack and range. The Missionary is essentially a mounted Monk and is the only unique monk in the entire game, produced at the Monastery. The Missionary has lower range and cannot pick up relics, however. To reflect their widespread religious activity in the Americas, Inquisition allows their Monks and Missionaries to convert faster. They also have access to all technologies at the Monastery. As a result, the Spanish land forces feature a standard mix of infantry and cavalry units with all such units available, except for Eagle Warriors and Camels.

The Spanish unique technology Supremacy drastically increases the combat skill of their villagers, giving Spanish players the opportunity to use villagers to perform combat duties. However, Spanish siege weapons are somewhat lacking, missing both the Siege Onager and Heavy Scorpion and are the only civilization to be missing the Crossbowman upgrade, meaning that the Spanish have to rely on fast firing Bombard Cannons as their siege support and Conquistadores and Hand Cannoneers as their anti-infantry ranged support. As a result of their overseas conquest and their successful search for riches, the Spanish team bonus increases productivity of all allied trade units.

They are featured heavily throughout the El Cid campaign as the player civilization, although some of the scenarios featured the Saracen civilization as the one used by the player. They are also the main opponents in the Montezuma campaign, warring against the Aztec and Maya and they are also played in the Battle of Lepanto scenario.

Gameplay wise, the Spanish will struggle against civilizations with strong camels (i.e. Saracens' Camels and Mamelukes) that can counter their Paladins, and civilizations with strong counters to their Conquistadores (i.e. Berbers' Genitours, and Italian Geneose Crossbowmen and Condottieros). Conversely, they are a formidable foe to the Aztecs, Vikings, and the Teutons, as the former two lack the Halberdier upgrade to deal with the Spanish Paladins, while the Teutons' Teutonic Knights slow movement speed are incredibly vulnerable to Conquistador high mobility and anti-infantry ranged attack and the Spanish cavalry is far superior to the Teuton's. The Spanish strong monk bonuses (the mounted Missionary and Inquisition unique tech) makes the Spanish an ideal civilization to punish civilizations that lack Heresy, especially civilizations that heavily depend on expensive units (such as the Persians, Slavs, Indians, and Koreans).


 * Unique Units: Conquistador (mounted hand cannoneer), Missionary (mounted monk)
 * Unique Technologies: Supremacy (increased attack, armor and HP for Villagers), Inquisition (Monks conversion rate improved)

Civilization bonuses

 * Builders work 30% faster
 * Blacksmith upgrades don't cost gold
 * Cannon Galleons have Ballistics and faster missiles
 * Hand Cannoneers and Bombard Cannons fire 15% faster
 * Team Bonus: Trade Carts, Trade Cogs return 25% more gold

Changes in The Forgotten

 * Missionaries affected by Bloodlines

Changes in African Kingdoms

 * Missionaries no longer require castle
 * Inquisition cost changed from 400g/400f to 300g/100f
 * Before patch 4.8, trade units generate 33% more gold. With patch 4.8, trade units generate 25% more gold.

In-game dialogue language (Medieval Spanish)

 * Sí (Yes)
 * ¿Mande? (Command?)
 * ¿Sí? (Yes?)
 * Presto/a (Ready)
 * Servidor/-a (Servant)
 * Plazme (It pleases me)
 * De grado (Agreeing)
 * ¡Voy! (I'm going!)
 * Agora (Now)
 * Talar (To cut down [trees])
 * Buscar (To search, to look for)
 * Cazar (To hunt)
 * Pescar (To fish)
 * Cultivar (To farm)
 * Excavar (To dig)
 * Construír (To build)
 * Remendar (To repair)
 * ¡Guerra! (War!)
 * ¡Santiago! (battle cry, literally "Saint James!" )
 * ¡A ellos! ("To them!", or "Upon them!")
 * ¡Eh!

AI Player Names

 * Álvarez de Toledo: Surname of a prominent aristocratic Spanish family, may refer to Fernando, 3rd Duke of Alba (1507-1582), the brilliant military tactician who conquered Portugal in 1580, or García, 1st Duke of Alba (c. 1424-1488).
 * Cardinal Jimenez (1436-1517): Religious and political figure influential in the Spanish clergy and government; promoted forced conversion of the Moors and crusades into North Africa. Also known for founding what is now the Complutense University of Madrid.
 * Catherine of Aragon (1485-1536): Spanish royal, daughter of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand II. Aragonese ambassador to England before becoming Queen of England upon her marriage to Henry VIII. His annulment of the marriage against the will of the Pope famously led to England's schism with the papacy.
 * Count Berenguer: Misspelled, the title could refer to any of the many Counts of Barcelona or Providence from the Berenguer family from the 11th to 13th centuries.
 * El Cid Campeador (c. 1043-1099): Famous nobleman and military leader in Spain. Originally served under King Alfonso VI, but exiled after attacking a Moorish protectorate of the Spanish King; in exile, he conquered the Moorish Kingdom of Valencia. Immortalized by legend, poetry, and theatre.
 * Gonzalo de Codóba: Misspelled, most likely General Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba (1453-1515) known for military success in Italy often using innovative tactics such as trench warfare.
 * Hernan Cortéz (1485-1547): Conquistador famous for defeating Aztec ruler Cuauhtemoc and conquering his empire, leading a campaign between 1519 and 1521 with the aide of indigenous states hostile to the Aztecs.
 * King Alfonso: Many Christian Kings of the name Alfonso ruled over parts of Spain, including Alfonso I "the Catholic" of Asturias (c. 693-757), Alfonso VI "the brave" of León and Castile (bef. 1040-1109), and Alfonso VIII of Castile (1155-1214).
 * King Charles VIII: Likely a mistake; the only kings of the name Charles VIII were of Sweden (1408-1470) and of France (1470-1498).
 * King Ferdinand: Multiple Christian Kings of the name Ferdinand ruled over parts of Spain, including Ferdinand I "the Great" of León (c. 1016-1065), Ferdinand I of Aragon (1379-1416), and Ferdinand II of Aragon and Castile (1452-1516) who jointly presided over the beginning of the global Spanish Empire with his wife Queen Isabella.
 * King Ramiro of León: Could refer to Ramiro II (c. 900-951), king from 931-951 and famous for his military success, or Ramiro III (961-985), king from 966-984 who came to the throne at the age of five and later tried but failed to instal; an absolutist regime in León.
 * King Sancho: Many Christian Kings of the name Alfonso ruled over parts of Spain, including the first King of Navarre, Sancho VI "the Wise" (died 1194), Sancho IV "the Brave" (1257-1295) of León and Castile, and Sancho II "the Strong" (1037-1072) of Castile (and later León) who was the son of Ferdinand I.
 * Ordono II of León (c. 873-924): King of Galicia from 910-924, King of León from 914-924. Ruled in the northern part of the Iberian Peninsula, most of which was ruled by Muslim kingdoms against which he often went to war.
 * Pedro the Cruel (1334-1369): King of Castile and León from 1350-1369. Fought a decades of war against the Kingdom Aragon (which eventually defeated Pedro with the support of the Pope and the French King). Labelled "The Cruel" by his contemporaries, others have called him "Pedro the Just."
 * Queen Isabella (1451-1504): Queen of Castile from 1474-1504. Ruled jointly with her husband, Ferdinand II or Aragon, forming the basis for Spanish unification. Also famous for financing Christopher Columbus's expedition, leading to the Age of European colonization of the Americas.
 * Ramiro I of Aragon (bef. 1007-1063): The first King of Aragon, ruled from 1035-1062. Took part in the Reconquista, subjugating small Moorish kingdoms on his borders. Killed in the Battle of Graus.

Trivia

 * Originally, the unique unit of the Spanish was planned to be the Genitour, but it was replaced by the Conquistador before release.
 * The Spanish are the only civilization that have no access to Crossbowman upgrade.
 * The Spanish are the only civilization to have two unique units in Western Europe, namely the Conquistador and Missionary.
 * The Spanish are the only civilization in Western Europe that can research Bloodlines.
 * The hat worn by the Conquistador is used as The Conquerors icon.