Victoria 3: How To Modernize A Primitive Economy

Paradox Development Studio’s Victoria 3, a sweeping grand strategy game set during the Victorian era, features intricate game play with a focus on economic development. It offers a fantastic range of countries to play as during the tumultuous Victorian era — some great and powerful, others far less so. While it can be a lot of fun to play as the historical winners of the period — Great Britain, France, and Russia — lots of players find the challenge of bringing minor nations to the forefront of Victorian politics.

But that’s easier said than done, as primitive economies suffer from major competitive disadvantages in Victoria 3. Still, it can be an incredibly fun and rewarding journey to take a primitive nation and its economy from an under-performing traditional economy to something on the cutting-edge of the Victorian world. So let’s take a look at how to modernize a primitive economy in Victoria 3.

Easy Route: Join A More Advanced Country’s Customs Union

An “easy” way to modernize in Victoria 3 is to become part of a larger, more advanced country’s Customs Union. This is technically an easier way of managing it, since the demand for goods in the Customs Union is going to be much higher than inside a primitive economy. This means the economy can be modernized without much thinking about which goods are in balance.

This route can allow players to focus mostly on the changing of laws to allow better forms of government, better institutions, and so on. It also means players won’t need to worry about trade laws, because they don’t control the market for the Customs Union and won’t need to trade.

But, it can be quite difficult to join another country’s Customs Union, and in the latest patch, it requires becoming a subject nation. This has its own advantages and disadvantages, but subject nations are subject to the whims of their overlord and can eventually be annexed against their will.

Subjects generally don’t need to worry about getting attacked by larger countries, so sometimes it can be a good option.

Harder Route (But More Rewarding): Go It Alone

Players who don’t want to join another country’s Customs Union can instead opt to go it alone. This is more difficult in some ways and easier in others, but it does require a bit more thinking. Players who opt to go it alone will need to change the relevant laws, boost production across a range of industries, and maintain a military and diplomatic presence that’s enough to keep them from getting conquered.

Learn Your Nation’s Government & Laws

After selecting any country in Victoria 3 it’s a good idea to scope out the country’s government — which interest groups are most powerful, to which groups the leader belongs, and which system of power it uses — as well as the starting laws. These factors are all incredibly important for the management of a country in Victoria 3 as the interest groups affect which laws can be changed — and which laws they can be changed to.

Primitive economies typically don’t have any advantageous policies, and usually the interest groups in power are those that support the status quo.

Bolster & Suppress Interest Groups

Depending on the specific make-up of the country’s government, it’s a good idea to start suppressing and bolstering various interest groups in the country. The reason to do this is because Interest Groups (IGs) all have specific laws and institutions they support.

In many primitive economies, the major IG is the Landowners, a group with many different names across different nations in
Victoria 3.

The problem with the Landowner IG is that, in general, it doesn’t support the kinds of reforms needed to modernize a primitive economy. Landowners typically support the institution of slavery, oppose any trade policy that isn’t Isolationism, and are unhappy with changes from a Traditionalist economic policy. But, the Landowners often form the only viable government in many nations, so Suppression isn’t a viable option.

It’s a good idea to Bolster other Interest Groups instead. Good choices for a primitive economy are the Intelligentsia and the Rural Folk. The Rural Folk are a good choice because they support changes to the economic policies, as well as land management, whereas the Intelligentsia typically support changes to trade and slave policy, among others.

The Rural Folk are often the easiest group to bolster for primitive economies because populations working in agriculture are attracted to this group, and primitive nations tend to build more farms and other agricultural buildings. This works out well for changing land management and economic policy laws later on, too.

How To Bolster Or Suppress Interest Groups

Interest Groups can be Bolstered or Suppressed by using Authority. There are a few ways to start Bolstering or Suppressing an Interest Group. In the Outliner on the right-hand side of the screen, there’s a list of Interest Groups. To Bolster or Suppress, players can right-click the icon for the IG and select to either Bolster or Suppress them.

Alternatively, IGs can be Bolstered or Suppressed from the Government screen. Again, click on their icon and select the desired option.

The effects of Bolster or Suppress on an IG’s pop attraction depends on the country’s censorship laws.

Countries with the
Censorship institution
have a much more effective Bolster or Suppress action.

Decide What Laws & Institutions To Change

Generally speaking, primitive economies will suffer from a Traditionalist economic policy, combined with a Slave Trading economy and a policy of Isolationism. But, as nice as it would be to change those things immediately, it’s usually not possible — nor is it desirable.

It is a good idea to know what institutions and laws are already in play. For example, some countries will have the National Supremacy law enacted, which makes migration into the country less common.

Generally speaking, laws that will need to be changed ASAP include
Trade Policy, Economic Policy,
and
Land Management laws.

Check The Nation’s Technologies

Next to consider is the issue of technologies. Primitive economies in Victoria 3 usually have very few technologies unlocked, including key technologies required to build necessary buildings, such as the Tooling Workshop. Some start in a better position than others, but the most primitive economies in Victoria 3 start with only the basic first-tier technologies available.

Generally speaking, it’s a fantastic idea to get the capacity to build Industrial buildings as soon as possible, so it’s a good idea to select the Manufactories technology first.

Build Up The Nation’s Economy In Victoria 3

Primitive economies will start out being able to build basic agricultural buildings, basic resource buildings (such as the Logging Camp or the Fishing Wharves), and often no Industrial buildings of any sort. But, that doesn’t matter first-off, as the economy will need Wood and Grain to get moving anyway.

A good first option is the Logging Camp, followed by the player’s choice of agricultural building. It can be a good idea to look at the Market to see which resources are most necessary. Players can access the Market by clicking on the Market tab in the Outliner at the right-hand side of the screen.

Then, once in the Market view, players can sort the list by goods surplus/deficit to see which goods are required.

It’s a good idea to
increase production of the goods in deficit
, whichever goods those are.

Establish Your Country’s Industry In Victoria 3

As soon as the relevant technologies are researched, it’s time to establish an industry for the nation. This starts off small — a Tooling Workshop, a Textiles Mill — but must be grown continuously throughout the game. Tools are typically the most important goods to get flowing into the economy, so build a workshop for those first.

How To Change Production In Victoria 3

Most buildings in Victoria 3 have several different production methods they can switch between. These include things like “does not use tools” or “uses tools.” Changing the production methods can influence the demand for other goods. In the example of tools, demand for tools can be increased by (for example) changing the production on Maize, Millet, or Wheat farms to require tools.

Primitive countries won’t have many options for this at first, but this is key to developing demand for goods and industries in the nation. So, it pays off to manipulate production methods, as nobody will work in an unproductive building because it won’t pay enough. If the economy has no use for tools, the Tooling Workshop won’t get any workers.

It’s possible to change the production methods to use resources the country doesn’t have, and this is a
bad idea
. If the country has no access to iron and can’t trade for it, don’t switch production methods to use iron.

Good Industrial Building Choices In Victoria 3

In a primitive economy, the best choices for Industry buildings are going to be things that are necessary for the population, eg clothes, furniture, and tools. But, it’s a good idea to establish a Paper Mill for Universities and Government Administration to use, as well as Glassware and Food Industries.

If the nation has access to iron, it can be a good idea to build an
Arms Industry
too.

Establish Universities To Buff Technology Research

Universities help with researching technologies. They directly buff the research rate, but they also increase access to education and literacy, both of which help research. So, it pays off to build at least one or two Universities — when the economy can support them, of course.

Universities need Paper to function. They’ll also help attract more pops to the Intelligentsia IG, which can be useful for some reforms.

Key Technologies To Research In Victoria 3

There are several key technologies for primitive economies to research. These techs will allow a range of different but essential changes such as new laws and institutions, new industries, and new production methods. Without these, primitive nations can’t modernize at all.

• Manufactories – Allows industry.
• Shaft Mining – Allows mining of coal and iron.
• Academia – Allows construction of universities.
• Romanticism – Allows Agrarianism law.
• Bureaucracy – Required for International trade and unlocks Government Administration building.
• International Trade – Allows Mercantilism Trade Policy and Laissez-Faire Economic Policy.
• Stock Exchange – Allows Protectionism and Free Trade Policies.

Important Laws To Change In Victoria 3

To properly modernize an economy and improve standard of living in Victoria 3, laws are paramount. Generally speaking, there are three laws that can drag an economy into the modern era, with some others that are very helpful.

Realistically, any policy in the Economic Policies category that isn’t Traditionalism will work for modernizing a country, but some are better than others — and others are easier to achieve.

Possibly the easiest one to switch to is Agrarianism. Agrarianism doesn’t require much technology to enact, as the Romanticism tech is early in the Society tech tree. Plus, it’s easy to get the Rural Folk to support Agrarianism, so it can spawn as a target of a Political Movement.

To properly modernize an economy, it’s absolutely essential to switch away from the Isolationism trade policy. Isolationism means countries can’t establish any trade routes, which means that any inefficiencies or deficiencies in the economy can’t be addressed through trade — while also blocking off exports to shift surplus goods.

Any of the three available Trade policies are better than Isolationism. It’s generally easiest to enact Protectionism, as that can be supported by lower-class populations and spawn as a Political Movement.

Serfdom as a law can work, but it results in a much poorer lower-class and prevents them from migrating between the country’s states in search of work. Alternatives to serfdom, such as Tenant Farmers, are better because they result in better paid farmers who have more money to spend on the rest of the economy.

Other options such as Homesteading boost the incomes and political power of farmers a lot, so it can be worth considering whether that’s a good thing, but it does let farmers migrate. In any case, it’s a good idea to move away from Serfdom once the economy has diversified away from farming, as this will boost the money available for these pops to spend on the rest of the economy.

It can be tempting to move away from Slave Trading as soon as possible, but this isn’t always a good idea for the economy. While slave-based economies are inefficient and disadvantageous to more advanced economies, primitive economies benefit from being able to use unpaid labor, which can boost productivity.

But, as the economy diversifies, it’s a great idea to get rid of slavery, since slaves have no money to spend on goods. Slavery Banned is the best option, but sometimes Legacy Slavery is the only available compromise.

Many pops will clamor for National Supremacy, which requires pops to share Cultural and Heritage traits with the primary culture to be accepted. But for primitive economies, Racial Segregation is the much better option because it allows anyone with the same Heritage trait to migrate to the country. This means that, if playing Merina Kingdom in Africa, any pop with the African heritage Heritage trait will be able to migrate to the country. That provides a massive boost to the economy.

Additional Tips To Modernize Your Victoria 3 Economy

Build & Maintain An Army

With everything else going on, it can be easy to forget about the military. But, not only is the military key to defending the nation, it also drives demand for some key goods. So it literally pays to remember the military and the navy.

Don’t Skimp On Diplomacy

Primitive nations need to have powerful allies to prevent getting conquered or pressed into a larger nation. Strong relations with an AI country can prevent them from starting wars, while some larger nations can even offer Defense Pacts and other boons.