Minor civilization

A Native American minor civilization's settlement as it appears in the game (Cheyenne).

An Asian minor civilization's settlement (Sufi Mosque).

Minor civilizations (also referred to as minor tribes, Natives, or Native allies) feature throughout the campaign scenarios and random maps of Age of Empires III. All playable major civilizations can ally with a minor civilization by constructing Trading Posts at settlement sites. Each minor civilization typically offers three technologies to research and access to at least one unique military unit; trained in limited amounts with two unit upgrades.

Players retain access to the minor civilization's technologies and units for as long as the Trading Post is not destroyed. With both The WarChiefs and The Asian Dynasties expansions, a total of 22 minor civilizations exist.

Units

Native units always cost a certain amount of wood, food, and/or coin, but never population. Instead, native units have a build limit which players can increase by allying with further settlements of the same minor civilization.

From The WarChiefs, players can build Native Embassies to train allied minor civilization units at locations beyond the Trading Post site.

Upgrades

All native units' hit points and damage can be upgraded first in Fortress Age by +25% for 200 wood and 150 coin and a second time by +40% in Industrial Age for 400 wood and 300 coin. The native unit upgrades from Age of Empires III and The WarChiefs are called Elite and Champion while in The Asian Dynasties they are called Disciplined and Honored. In the Imperial Age, players can improve hit points and damage again by researching Legendary Native Warriors in the Capitol for 1,500 food and 1,500 wood.

A wide array of Home City cards can boost native units.

Native mercenaries

Most civilizations can send native allies from their Home City, which are technically mercenary shipments as they cost Coin. Furthermore, native units sent from Home City have their own build limit, an additional mercenary tag and they are treated by the game as different units. Because of that the visually identical native mercenaries and native units will not simultaneously select when double-clicking one of them. Military unit upgrades in the native settlement still affect both, native mercenaries and native units.

List

While Age of Empires III and The WarChiefs feature Native American settlements, the paradigma changes in The Asian Dynasties to religious communities or Holy Sites (as developer Big Huge Games labels them in the game manual).

Age of Empires III

Age of Empires III included the following twelve Native American settlements:

Tribe	Units	Technologies	Maps
Aztecs	Aztec Eagle Warrior Aztec Jaguar Warrior	Aztec Initiation Aztec Chocolate Recipes Aztec Chinampa Aztec Garland Wars	Sonora Yucatán
Carib	Carib Blowgunner Carib Ambusher	Carib Kasiri Beer Carib Garifuna Drums Carib Ambush Party Carib Ceremonial Feast	Amazonia Caribbean Hispaniola Orinoco
Cherokee	Cherokee Rifleman Settler	Cherokee War Dance Sequoyah's Cherokee Syllabary Cherokee Basket Weaving	Bayou Carolina New England Ozarks
Comanche	Comanche Horse Archer	Comanche Trade Language Comanche Horse Breeding Comanche Mustangs	Great Plains Ozarks Rockies Texas
Cree	Cree Tracker Cree Coureur des Bois	Cree Tanning Cree Kinship Cree Textile Craftsmanship	Great Lakes Saguenay Yukon
Inca	Incan Huaminca Incan Bolas Warrior	Incan Metalworking Incan Chasquis Messengers Incan Road-building	Amazonia Andes Araucania Pampas
Iroquois	Iroquois Tomahawk Iroquois Mantlet	Iroquois Lacrosse Iroquois League Iroquois Morning Wars	Great Lakes New England
Lakota	Lakota Axe Rider Lakota Dog Soldier	Lakota Hunting Grounds Lakota Horse Trading Lakota Dog Soldiers	Great Lakes Great Plains Rockies
Maya	Maya Holcan Spearman Medicine Man	Maya Cotton Armor Maya Calendar	Orinoco Sonora Yucatán
Nootka	Nootka Clubman Nootka War Chief	Nootka Bark Clothing Nootka Potlatch Loyal Nootka War Chief	California Northwest Territory Yukon
Seminole	Seminole Sharktooth Bowman	Seminole Guerilla Wars Seminole Bowyer	Bayou Carolina
Tupi	Tupi Blackwood Archer Buttercup the Pet Cougar	Tupi Poison Arrow Frogs Tupi Forest Burning Tupi Animal Lore	Amazonia Pampas

The WarChiefs

With their introduction as major civilizations, The WarChiefs removed the Aztecs, Iroquois, and Lakota (Sioux) as minor civilizations:

Tribe	Units	Technologies	Maps
Apache	Apache Cavalry	Apache Cactus Use Apache Endurance Apache Raiders	Painted Desert Sonora Texas
Cheyenne (replaces Lakota)	Cheyenne Rider	Cheyenne Hunting Grounds Cheyenne Horse Trading Cheyenne Fury	Great Lakes Great Plains Rockies
Huron (replaces Iroquois)	Huron Mantlet	Huron Sun Ceremony Huron Trade Dominance Huron Fish Wedding	Great Lakes New England Saguenay Plymouth
Klamath	Klamath Rifleman	Klamath Work Ethos Klamath Huckleberry Feast Klamath Strategy	California Northwest Territory
Mapuche	Mapuche Ironwood Clubman Mapuche Bolas Rider (Definitive Edition)	Mapuche Ad-mapu Mapuche Tactics Mapuche Treaty of Quillin	Araucania
Navajo	Navajo Rifleman	Navajo Weaving Navajo Shepherds Navajo Craftsmanship	Painted Desert Sonora
Zapotec (replaces Aztecs)	Zapotec Lightning Warrior	Zapotec Cloud People Zapotec Cult of the Dead Zapotec Food of the Gods	Amazonia Orinoco Yucatán

The Asian Dynasties

The Asian minor civilizations in Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties are, unlike the minor civilizations of Age of Empires III and The WarChiefs, based on religious movements instead of native tribes. With the exception of the Jesuits and Sufi, all native settlements are styled as temples. The minor civilizations are:

Tribe	Units	Technologies	Maps
Bhakti Temple	Tiger Claw	Yoga Reinforced Gauntlets Vegetarianism	Ceylon Deccan Himalayas Silk Road
Jesuit Mission	Conquistador	Flying Buttress Smokeless Powder Christian Schools	Borneo Honshu Indochina
Shaolin Temple	Rattan Shield	Clenched Fist Wood Clearing Dim Mak	Mongolia Silk Road Yellow River
Sufi Mosque	War Elephant	Pilgrimage Fasting Sharia	Borneo Deccan Indochina Mongolia Silk Road
Udasi Temple	Chakram	Sikh Gurus Punjabi New Year Army of the Pure	Deccan Himalayas Silk Road
Zen Temple	Sohei	Meditation Master Lessons Meritocracy	Ceylon Honshu Silk Road Yellow River

Trivia

• Near native villages, chattering can be heard. Small dialogues are hidden in the chatter, such as: Man: "The bounty is plentiful" and Little Girl: "Can I go?" Woman: "Let's go darling" Little Girl: "I don't think I can make it mommy" can be heard.
• Two random maps lack minor civilizations completely: Patagonia and Siberia.
• Besides the above, the maps with the least native diversity are Andes, Caribbean, Hispaniola, and Plymouth, each with only one kind of native settlement (Inca, Carib, or Huron).
• The most diverse random map is Silk Road with five potential minor civilizations. If excluded as a variant of three other maps (Himalayas, Mongolia, and Yellow River) due to its changing environment, the title falls to Amazonia, with four potential minor civilizations (Carib, Inca, Tupi, and Zapotec).
• The most exclusive minor civilization is the Mapuche, who are only present in Araucania. The most common is the Sufi Mosque, which may be found in five maps.