Protectorates are a gameplay mechanic in the Total War series. A protectorate is a faction under the protection of another faction.
Empire: Total War[]
Players may choose to request other nations to become their protectorate in the diplomacy screen. Under normal circumstances, a faction cannot ask another faction which is already a protectorate to become a protectorate. However, should the nations be at war, then one nation becoming another's protectorate can be part of the terms of a negotiated peace. No faction can be the protectorate of more than one faction at a time. Factions may only request other factions to be protectorates if the requested faction has only one region left. Any faction, regardless of if they are major or minor, may become protectorates if these conditions are met. All protectorates are counted as allies, and function in a largely similar way with a few key differences.
Protectorates cede some of their income to their protector nations, in exchange for a pledge from the protector faction to ally itself with it and declare war on enemies invading the protectorate and vice versa. Protectorates also automatically grant indefinite military access to their protector faction. They also have friendlier relations with their protector faction thanks to their status as an ally. The richer a nation is, the more practical it is to make it a protectorate. At the beginning of a campaign, some minor nations are already protectorates of others. If a nation that has protectorates becomes a protectorate, its own protectorates will become protectorates of the new parent nation. For example, Poland-Lithuania begins the grand campaign with Saxony and Courland as its protectorates; if Poland-Lithuania becomes a protectorate of Prussia, Saxony and Courland automatically become Prussian protectorates.
The A.I of Empire: Total War are much more reluctant to break a protectorate agreement than an alliance; protectorates are forced to join a war if they are required by their protecting faction, unlike allies. This makes protectorates much more reliable allies than regular allies.
When a minor nation has suffered great military defeats and/or lost a considerable amount of land, it may offer to become a protectorate rather than face complete destruction. It usually also demands a huge amount of money in return, though, so it is usually a good idea to ignore this proposition unless the invading faction is spread thin militarily.
While simply taking over a region is often more profitable than making the region a protectorate, in some circumstances the trade revenue and tribute paid by the protectorate is greater than the taxed wealth of a region. This is particularly true if the region is small and unproductive to begin with, or if the protector faction has many trade goods and many enlightenment trade technologies researched.
Protectorates are counted as captured regions in victory conditions. For example, the United Provinces requires the region of New York for its short and long campaign victory conditions; if it makes the United States a protectorate and the United States have New York, then the conditions for capturing New York are still fulfilled even if the United Provinces don't directly control it.
Factions with protectorates at the beginning of a campaign[]
- The Ottoman Empire: The Barbary States and the Crimean Khanate
Napoleon: Total War[]
Outside of scripted events, there are two ways to create protectorates in Napoleon: Total War. The first is to negotiate with another faction, asking it to become a protectorate much as one would request a trade agreement or military access. The second is to liberate a region from a hostile faction. Liberated regions (where the option is available) automatically become protectorates of their liberators. Often, liberating a region is more profitable than simply taking it over. This is especially true if one can trade with the region and they have an active trading fleet. In addition to trade income, protectorates automatically cede half their base income to their protector faction. If their parent faction is attacked and they are requested to join the war with their parent faction, they may not refuse to join the war. Conversely, if a protectorate faction is attacked but their protector refuses to aid them, then their protector/protectorate relationship (and their alliance) are automatically ended.
Some rules apply to creating protectorates: a faction may only be liberated if it was previously removed from the game. For example, if Great Britain loses all of its regions aside from Gibraltar, the region of England cannot be "liberated". An existing faction may only be made into a protectorate if it only has one region. Factions that are already protectorates may not be made protectorates of new factions unless they break their relationship with their protector faction first, or if their protector nation itself becomes a protectorate, in which case protectorship of both factions is transferred to the new protector faction. For example, if Poland is a protectorate of Prussia, and Prussia becomes the protectorate of France, then Poland automatically loses its protector-protectorate relationship with Prussia and becomes a French protectorate.
Protectorates are generally much more loyal to their protector nations than factions in an alliance. However, in very rare cases, protectorates may declare war on their protectors. This most likely occurs on the higher difficulties, and between two factions that have historically poor standing with each other (such as Great Britain and France).
In the Italy Campaign, Piedmont-Sardinia automatically becomes a protectorate if France captures the region of Turin from it.