Feb 1

throughout the past few weeks i have had the opportunity to pursue several different campaigns on civilization IV. i feel like i have come to a bona fide conclusion in terms of the best strategy for developing a prosperous and respectable empire. that strategy is that one should attempt to expand their societies to as much land as possible. this 'opens the flood gates' in terms of resources. obviously, not everything you need is readily available in your delegated region when you first start the game. by expanding your territory, you can better sustain yourself without needing to trade as much. throughout my campaigns, i have noticed that many of the trades that the other nations propose aren't very favorable for me or my people. but if i have already expanded my borders, i have the privilege of being much more selective with the trading decisions that i inevitably have to make.

in class and from our readings in diamond, we have learned that in order to make the leap from being a hunter-gatherer society to a farming society, you must first somehow muster up more food than your people need to consume (and find a way to preserve it as well). another thing that territorial expansion brings about is city-specialization. for example, in one of my campaigns, i had a city that mainly mined for gold, and another city that reaped almost all of my empire's wheat. this helped me internally acquire many vital resources (without having to trade).

according to jimmy dunn, one of today's leading egyptologists, one of the reasons the egyptian empire was so successful was because of the people who originally founded the societies. one theory of it's origin (my belief as well) is that the prehistoric egyptians were conquered by 'dynastic invaders' from the east. this strengthens my argument because these people were expanding their territory, taking advantage of what other people and their land had to offer.