Economics and Trade in Austerlitz

Goods must be produced and armies financed.  A player may purchase and sell goods at the great Trade Cities of Europe, or trade with other countries directly, via fleets of merchant ships calling foreign ports, or slow moving baggage trains that reach the far corners of Europe.  Opportunities exist in the colonies of India and the Caribbean to exploit rich mineral resources.  If goods and resources can not be found at home, or acquired through diplomacy and trade, there is an alternative...

The Early Months
The first few months of Austerlitz, before war may be declared in April 1808, are very important.  This period is typically characterized by rapid building of production sites, investment in money for merchantships and baggage trains, and movement towards the mineral resources of the colonies.  See Section 11 of the Austerlitz rulebook for descriptions of how to do your initial turn in Austerlitz.

General Concepts
Economic points, produced by factories from ore, textiles and wood,  are the critical good required for building ships and brigades of troops.  For maximal output each factory requires production from one textile mill, ½ ore mine,  and1 1/3 lumbercamps.  Each mill requires the wool produced from about 5 sheep farms for maximal output.  If you plan to develop naval strength you will need extra wood from lumbercamps and textiles from mill and sheepfarms.  Naturally, if you plan to have a strong cavalry force you will need horse farms.  An estate in Europe will feed ~50,000 population or troops.  Food is critical: once a famine begins it can be very difficult to stop as estates lose production due to loss of workers.  Stone is useful for building fortresses and increasing your population by settling citizens (spread evenly to reduce the effects of epidemics).  It is always a good idea to have a population above the minimum on coordinates with critical production sites such as factories and mines, as an epidemic could wipe out productino for a turn.

Trade
Generating revenue via trade is critical to create deceisive economic advantages over your enemies.  As trade city rates flunctuate, players send the baggage trains and merchant ships across Europe and the high seas to buy critical resources, sell excess goods at high rates for profit, or the simplest method: buy low, sell high.  By denying your enemy access to trade cities, you can effectively impose Napleon's Continental System and slowly strangle its economy.  This can be done direcetly by declaring war or neutrality, or through diplomacy: persuading or bribing your enemies neighbors to declare neutrality against your opponent.

Conclusion
Building a large army and navy requires a healthy economy; yet, maintaining that army during a long war requires a complex, multi-facted economy built on tax revenue, trade, and revenue from selling goods.  Additionally, a strategic reserve will be invaluble to maitain your economy should the fortunes of war turn sour.