Provocateurs are agents in The Peninsular Campaign of Napoleon: Total War, available for both sides. Either as anti-French or Afrancesados intellectuals, they're crucial for spreading either anti- or pro-French sentiment in regions.
General Information[]
Functionally, they're practically the same as Gentlemen, being able to duel and aid in research. However, they're unique in that they can spread either anti or pro-French sentiment. This is crucial, as having too low of your nation's sentiment will cause political unrest, which contributes to discontent and therefore cause rebellions.
Provocateurs will spawn from Colleges with a maximum of 12 Provocateurs at a time in the map. Notably, Colleges in the Peninsular Campaign will always spread pro-French sentiment no matter who builds them. This means that Great Britain, Portugal, and Spain will either have to risk keeping colleges for more provocateurs and a better research rate, or burn them down to prevent pro-French sentiment. Of course, with enough of your own provocateurs and priests, it is possible to counteract the growth of pro-French sentiment, although this requires a lot of them, which may only be possible in the late game.