Converting Province Religion

[unmerged(598)]

Hi all, can anyone tell me what the most efficient way to reduce a province population is?

Should I build up the fortress so that the rebel siege, and then my siege to retake the city last longer?

Is there any quicker method of depopulating provinces?

I just went on a crusade and reclaimed the Holy Land, however, two of the provinces have populations of 10k and 22k. Am I likely to be able to reduce these under 5 or should I give up the quest to root out unbelievers?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Dark Knight]

In a game that I'm playing with Russia, I've converted the Holy Land and most of Persia to Orthodoxy. High urban populations just mean that it will take a few more revolts to whittle it down, but don't really make it more difficult (assuming that you're willing to decimate the population, of course). Building up the fortifications might help, but be careful not to build it so high that the rebels can't take it.

 

[DubCat]

Originally posted by sean9898
Is there any quicker method of depopulating provinces?

No there isn't, and it is not really worth all that trouble. When you get down to Persia, you will probably encounter HUGE cities where it will take forever to diminish the population to less than 5000. Just increase the tolerance level towards Muslims. Many of those provinces generate LOADS of tax and trade income, and by diminishing their population you will lose incredible amounts of cash.

 

[unmerged(1909)]

In my current GCG as Turkey, I am having a terrible time reducing the population of Banat (taken from Hungary).

Banat went Protestant, and it is annoyingly the only Protestant province in my huge empire. As I simply cannot spare the tolerance for it on my slider track, what with Catholics and Orthodoxs and Shiites as well as loyal Sunnis to keep happy, I decided to try the old reduce the population to less than 5000, send in a missionary colonist trick.

The problem is, 5000 seems to be a hardwired population floor for the province. I've allowed then crushed numerous revolts as per page 34 of the manual, and each time the population of Banat goes down to 5000...not a citizen less! Thus I am stymied every time in my efforts to be able to convert it.

Is this a bug, or some sort of strange feature?

 

[BiB]

It's very hard, isn't it ? Can be done though.

 

[Dark Knight]

Just let the rebels take the fortification in Banat and then move an army in to defeat them and lay siege. When the army gets close to taking the fortress, have them start to move to another province and then click back in Banat so they stay there. This will automatically restore the fortress to full capacity. Repeat this until the population of the city is well below 5,000 and then take the fortress and send in a settler.

 

[unmerged(792)]

In my current game as Spain, I've been doing my best to convert the globe to Catholicism but have found that it is indeed tough to reduce high-pop center provinces. I got to Cuzco just as they passed 5000 and left an army there to pillage but then my war was dragging out too long and the rest of my empire was revolting so I had to let them be, along with other pagan centers like Tenochtitlan.

Still, successfully Catholicized all of Morocco including Fez and all of Algiera except Algiers, but that was because I got to them early under Ferdinand and Isabella, who just couldn't stop their little reconquista...

 

[unmerged(1909)]

Glory to Allah, I finally did it! I did just like was recommended, let the rebels spring up unopposed in the province, watched them conduct a 9 month siege, then moved in, and retook everything after a long slow 6 month siege. Towards the end, when it was 'any day now,' the population finally dipped below 5000. I decided to end the siege by storm at this point, to cause a little extra carnage for good measure.

Phew. Like I said, all the previous revolts (some of which included the city garrison, so a siege was included too) left the population EVERY time at the suspiciously round number of 5000, not a man more or a man less. I guess 5000 is not a hard floor, but a point of strong resistance for population decrease to overcome.

Jim W.