Portuguese (Age of Empires II)

This article is about the civilization in Age of Empires II. For their Age of Empires III appearance, see Portuguese (Age of Empires III).

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The Wonder of the Portuguese, the Belém Tower

The Portuguese are a European naval and gunpowder civilization featured in Age of Empires II HD: The African Kingdoms. They are a Booming naval civilization, that focuses on solid late-game economy and base their army strength in versatile gunpowder units and powerful navy. Historically, Goths first and Arabic people after ruled the Iberic Peninsula before the Reconquista, which caused Portugal to become an independent kingdom from 1139 onwards and to have its territory fully consolidated by 1248. They've been a non-protagonist country in Europe for around two or three centuries. But from the 15th Century, during the Age of Discovery, they were able to build a very powerful and large colonial empire, and for a brief period had the supremacy in the Atlantic Ocean before being outclassed by the Spanish, British, and Dutch Empires.

The Portuguese established tactical colonial bases in the New World and particularly on the African coasts thanks to their excellent navigation skills and organization. This implied great trade advantages opening them exclusive naval routes to India, Africa and China, along with a wide control of the oceans. This couldn't be possible without a powerful, highly technologically and military developed and large fleet along with emperors who financed and oriented their political economics to create a strong colonial trade empire. All of these facts are reflected in the game by giving the Portuguese two unique units (the Organ Gun and the Caravel), and one of the most effective navies - at least the most durable -, since they get as bonuses ships with +10% HP and the Carrack technology which gives their ships +1(melee)/+1(pierce) armor. Also they can count on a naval unique unit, the Caravel, which is essentially a more agile Galleon able to hit more massed units (in a similar way as the Scorpion), more durable ships (both in hit points and armor), more accurate gunpowder units thanks to the Arquebus technology which making gunpowder units affected by Ballistics, and giving them free Cartography from the Dark Age.

The Portuguese resolved the problem of being a small nation by basing their economy on foreign-opened exchange and production of their colonies. This meant that most of their income came from abroad, and had a critical impact on the employment in primary sectors and focus on military and exploring purposes. As a result, from the Imperial Age, they are the only civilization in the game able to collect resources without employing villagers thanks to the only unique building: the Feitoria.

The Portuguese were also among the first European countries, along with the Spanish, to successfully colonize South America. This operation boasted, as well as a prolonged serious inflation from the late sixteenth-early seventeenth centuries, their economy and made Portugal one of the wealthiest and richest European nations for several decades before their eventual military and commercial decline. The crown was able to finance exploring voyages and pay soldiers handsomely. The flourishing economy of the Portuguese was further stimulated as large trade companies started in risk trade investement, which too gave very high profits. The consequences of all this income is reflected in the reduced gold cost of all units, including military ones.

Description

Set sail for the new world, discover new routes to unknown lands and expand your trade routes to the mighty African empires. Use your newly acquired riches to advance your army with upgrades not mastered elsewhere in Europe and build incredibly cities that will inspire generations for centuries to come.

Overview

One of the main advantages of the Portuguese is their strong navy, powered by the Carrack technology (+1 armor/pierce armor), +10% HP and -15% gold bonuses to all ships. The Portuguese tech tree includes the Elite Cannon Galleon which allows for water domination in the late game. The Caravel, a unique unit, fires piercing projectiles that allow it to do maximum damage to large groups of enemy warships. The Arquebus technology makes gunpowder units much more accurate making the Portugueses' Hand Cannoneer, Organ Gun, the other Portuguese unique unit, the Bombard Cannon and even the Bombard Tower more effective against moving foes. In the Barracks, they have the Champion and Halberdier, but their speeds are slower than most civilizations as they lack Squires. In the Archery Range, they lack the Heavy Cavalry Archer upgrade and Parthian Tactics technology, but everything else is available. In the Stable, they do not have the Hussar, Paladin upgrades and Camel and Heavy Camel (as they are a European civilization), but everything is available. In the Siege Workshop, they lack both Siege Onager and Heavy Scorpion. In their Monastery, everything is available except Illumination. In their University, they have access to all technologies. Like their neighbours, the Italians, their economy is pretty good, lacking only Gold Shaft Mining.

The Portuguese will have a hard time against cavalry civilizations such as the Huns and the Spanish, due to the high mobility of their cavalry being able to decimate their gunpowder, foot archers, and siege units in addition the Portuguese lackluster cavalry; and will struggle against the Italians and the Goths (due to the former having far superior foot archers and Condottieri, while the later have Huskarls with high-pierce armor that can easily shrug off archer and gunpowder attacks, including the Organ Gun). They will have no problems facing the Teutons or the Japanese, due to their wide variety of anti-infantry options (including the Organ Gun).

Unique Units: Organ Gun (Siege unit), Caravel (Warship)

Unique Technologies: Carrack (Ships +1/+1 armor), Arquebus (Gunpowder units affected by Ballistics)

Civilization bonuses

• All units cost -15% gold
• Ships +10% HP
• Can build Feitoria in Imperial Age
• Team Bonus: Free Cartography from the Dark Age

In-game dialogue language (Modern Portuguese)

General

• Olá (Hello)
• Estou pronto (I'm ready)
• Quais as vossas ordens? (What are thy orders?)
• Sim (Yes)
• Farei-lo-ei* (I shall do it)
• Ir-me-ei (I shall go)
• Entendido (Understood)
• Coletar (To gather)
• Construir (To build)
• Caçar (To hunt)
• Minerar (To mine)
• Cortar madeira (To chop wood)
• Pescar (To fish)
• Reparar (To repair)

Military units

• Ao seu dispor (At your disposal)
• Quais são as vossas ordens? (What are thy orders?)
• Avançar! (Advance!)
• Atacar! (Attack!)
• Às armas! (To arms!)

Monk

• Por Deus (By God)
• Quais são as ordens? (What are the orders?)
• Correto (Correct)

King

• Estou preparado (I'm prepared)
• Que quereis? (What do thou want?)
• Ei-lo aqui (Here he is)
• Por que me perturbas? (Why do you disturb me?)
• Pela minha graça (By my grace)
• Como desejares (As you wish)
• Farei o que me pedires (I'll do what you ask me)

* Grammatically incorrect. It should be "Fá-lo-ei".

AI Player Names

When playing a random map game against the computer, the player may encounter any of the following Portuguese AI characters:

Trivia

• The Portuguese are the first Age of Empires II civilization to have a unique building: Feitoria.
• The Portuguese are also one of two Age of Empires II civilization to have access to all technologies at the University, the other being the Koreans. This was until patch 4.8, when Arrowslits was removed from their tech tree.
• If a player picks the Portuguese civilization, the bottom left and right of the navigation bar feature blue tiles known as Azulejo  a form of Spanish and Portuguese painted tin-glazed ceramic tilework. The middle of the navigation bar will show the Portuguese shield.

Gallery

Official preview

Mediterranean.jpg

The Mediterranean architecture shared with the Italians.

The Feudal Age architecture for the Mediterranean buildset, when it was still a mod on the Steam Workshop. Note that the Portuguese were introduced in The African Kingdoms, when the mod was officially added to the game.

Video Overview