Sokoto

Sokoto

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Capital:

Hausaland

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Government Type:

Monarchy

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Primary Cultures:

Hausa, Fulbe

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State Religion:

Sunni

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Country Tier:

Kingdom

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Country Type:

Unrecognized

"Under the banner of the Fulani Jihad, the Sokoto Caliphate is expanding rapidly. Can Sokoto unite West Africa and resist the Western powers?"

Sokoto is an  unrecognized regional power in West Africa. While geographically large and more powerful than its immediate neighbors, Sokoto is underdeveloped and liable to be conquered or subjugated by a European power.

Technology

Sokoto starts with a small number of the era 1 technologies researched.

Production technology	Military technology	Society technology
Shaft Mining	Navigation  Military Drill	International Trade  Rationalism

Politics

Starting Laws

Power Structure		Economy		Human Rights
Governance Principles	Monarchy	Economic System	Traditionalism	Free Speech	Right of Assembly
Distribution of Power	Autocracy	Trade Policy	Isolationism	Labor Rights	No Workers' Rights
Citizenship	National Supremacy	Taxation	Land-Based Taxation	Children's Rights	Child Labor Allowed
Church and State	State Religion	Land Reform	Serfdom	Rights of Women	Legal Guardianship
Bureaucracy	Hereditary Bureaucrats	Colonization	No Colonial Affairs	Welfare	No Social Security
Army Model	Peasant Levies	Policing	No Police	Migration	Closed Borders
Internal Security	No Home Affairs	Education System	No Schools	Slavery	Slave Trade
		Health System	No Health System

Interest groups

Sokoto has the Landowners and Sunni Ulema  in government. The Armed Forces and Rural Folk are  in opposition, while the Intelligentsia, Industrialists, Petite Bourgeoisie, and Trade Unions are  marginalized.

Economy

Starting Statistics

Statistic	Starting value
GDP	2.9M
Population	5.4M
Literacy	9.4%
Standard of Living	Struggling (8.2)

States

Niger

Name	Type	Homelands	Arable Land		Resources						State Traits
			Size	Uses
Hausaland		Fulbe Hausa Songhai Yoruba Equatorial Bantu	110	Millet Farm  Livestock Ranch  Banana Plantation  Coffee Plantation  Cotton Plantation  Dye Plantation  Tobacco Plantation  Sugar Plantation	19	—	—	—	(20)	(10)	Malaria -90% Colony Growth Speed in non-Homeland States +15% Mortality in non-Homeland States  Niger River +15 Infrastructure
Outer Hausaland		Dyula Fulbe Hausa Songhai Tuareg Kanuri Equatorial Bantu	60	Millet Farm  Livestock Ranch	4	48	—	—	—	(5)	Malaria -90% Colony Growth Speed in non-Homeland States +15% Mortality in non-Homeland States  Niger River +15 Infrastructure
East Hausaland		Fulbe Hausa	140	Millet Farm  Livestock Ranch  Banana Plantation  Coffee Plantation  Cotton Plantation  Dye Plantation  Tobacco Plantation  Sugar Plantation	18	72	—	—	—	(5)	Malaria -90% Colony Growth Speed in non-Homeland States +15% Mortality in non-Homeland States
Nigeria		Fulbe Hausa Tiv Equatorial Bantu	60	Millet Farm  Livestock Ranch  Banana Plantation  Coffee Plantation  Cotton Plantation  Dye Plantation  Tobacco Plantation  Sugar Plantation	20	—	45	45	(24)	—	Malaria -90% Colony Growth Speed in non-Homeland States +15% Mortality in non-Homeland States
North Camaroon		Fulbe Equatorial Bantu	70	Millet Farm  Livestock Ranch  Banana Plantation  Coffee Plantation  Cotton Plantation  Dye Plantation  Tea Plantation  Sugar Plantation	18	—	—	—	—	—	Malaria -90% Colony Growth Speed in non-Homeland States +15% Mortality in non-Homeland States

Industry and resources

Industry

Sokoto has only two  Textile Mills and a moderate number of agricultural buildings.

Resources

Sokoto has access to a good amount of coal, as well as some iron and lead. It also has a large amount of arable land and can grow most cash crops.

Military

Sokoto has the  Peasant Levies law.

Sokoto begins with 70 regular  battalions and 26 conscript battalions available; all battalions use the same set of production methods:  Irregular Infantry,  Infantry Focus,  Cavalry Scouts,  Standardized Infantry, and  Wound Dressing.

Sokoto starts with no  flotillas.

Strategy and guides

The below is one of many player suggested strategies for Sokoto. Bear in mind, due to the dynamic nature of the game, it may unfold differently for other players.

Starting Situation

Sokoto is sizable, has a decent population, and has decent resource availability. However, it is technologically poor and economically underdeveloped.

Grand Strategy

Sokoto's primary concern is to play economic and technological-catch up in order to minimize European influence in West Africa. Unlike some other parts of the world, the Europeans already have small bits of land in West Africa at the start of the game, and the Europeans are more held back by Malaria than the status of their army. The time window for the Europeans to acquire Quinine is a tremendous opportunity for Sokoto.

At this point, the player can go for 'Wide' Sokoto or 'Tall' Sokoto. 'Wide' will expand their army, early on, to grab up as many West and Central African minor powers as possible. This will deny the Europeans land and population. This could be either direct conquest or Puppeting. Direct conquest is almost always more useful, but Puppetting generates significantly less Infamy. The hope is that the Europeans will be less likely to attack as single large power rather than numerous small, weak ones. 'Tall' Sokoto will not expand, and instead focus on internal development. Obviously, good ports and bare necessity resources are vital, but other than that, little land conquest will be performed. 'Tall' Sokoto will build Construction Sectors where 'Wide' Sokoto will build armies. This will give 'Tall' Sokoto more power to sort out internal issues with economy and technology. On the flip side, this will leave the other African minors for the Europeans, and it will be more to take off the Europeans later.

The Europeans – notably France or the United Kingdom – will almost certainly attempt to conquer or colonize chunks of West Africa. Occasionally, America may show up as well.

Once the player hits a wall with conquest, the next decision is their overall diplomatic approach: Protectorate, Dominion, or Independent. Becoming a Protectorate under a European power will have a lot of market and security benefits, but will limit diplomatic options (notably Recognition) and may be difficult to get rid of later. Staying independent will be difficult with an underdeveloped Army, but not impossible with some good diplomacy. Even if the player chooses to remain independent, joining a Customs Union might work well for them.

A player may consider growing through colonization, and there is a lot of colonization to be done in Africa at game start. However, a lot of that colonization is effectively gated by technology (via Malaria and Severe Malaria), which is one of Sokoto's weaknesses. Sokoto can colonize, but it will be beaten to the punch by the European majors.

Internal Politics

Sokoto's starting laws aren't very good, but it doesn't have the tech to replace many of them.

Diplomacy

Sokoto's primary concern will probably be keeping the European powers out it is lands. However, it can latch on to inter-European wars to conquer the European West African colonies if the Europeans don't do a good job defending said colonies, which they often don't. The colonial powers' armies will be busy in Europe, leaving lightly defended colonies that can be swarmed with sheer numbers. Other than that, it should avoid any conflicts with the Europeans without direct support.

Potential

If Sokoto can salvage its initial situation and gain control of West Africa, it can be a global power. West Africa gains significant wealth from Rubber and Oil later in the game, and has a lot of population and resources. Sokoto is ultimately about outlasting the early-game technology issues.

Weaknesses

The European West African ports can serve as a bridgehead to invade Sokoto's acquired lands, making Sokoto have a de facto direct border with some of the most powerful countries in the game for some time. With some clever diplomacy and good fortune, Sokoto may be able to capture those ports, but not in a 1-on-1 fight.

References

Countries by Region

Congo/Southern Africa region

Gaza Kongo Oranje South Africa Transvaal Zulu

Ethiopia region

Aussa Begemder Borana Geledi Gojjam Harar Isaaq Kaffa Majerteen Shewa Sidamo Tigray Warsangali Welega Wello

Niger region

Bagirmi Benin Borgu Bornu Dahomey Gobir Oyo Sokoto Wadai

North Africa/Nile region

Ait Abbas Constantine Darfur Egypt Mascara Morocco Touggourt Tripolitania Tunis

Senegal region

Ashanti Futa Jallon Futa Toro Kaarta Liberia Massina Segou Sierra Leone

Zanj region

Acholi Ankole Buganda Bunyoro Burundi Karagwe Madagascar Rwanda

Formable

Algeria Ethiopia Mali Zimbabwe

Releasable

Hobyo Sudan

Balkans/Danubia region

Greece Ionian Islands Moldavia Montenegro Serbia Wallachia

England/France/Iberia region

Great Britain France Portugal Spain

Italy region

Lucca Modena Papal States Parma Sardinia-Piedmont Tuscany Two Sicilies

North Germany region

Anhalt Bremen Brunswick Frankfurt Hamburg Hanover Hesse Hesse-Kassel Holstein Lübeck Mecklenburg Mecklenburg-Strelitz Nassau Oldenburg Prussia Saxe-Coburg-Gotha Saxe-Meiningen Saxe-Weimar Saxony Schleswig Schwarzburg Waldeck

Rhine region

Belgium Lippe Luxembourg Netherlands Schaumburg-Lippe

South Germany/Poland region

Austria Baden Bavaria Hohenzollern Krakow Switzerland Württemberg

The Baltic region

Denmark Finland Norway Russia Sweden

Formable

Czechoslovakia Danubian State England Germany Iberia Ireland Italy Poland Poland-Lithuania North German Federation Romania Scandinavia South German Federation United Baltic Provinces Yugoslavia

Western Europe Releasable

Andalusia Bohemia Brittany Castile Catalonia Corsica Flanders Galicia Greenland Iceland Jan Mayen Lombardia Malta Navarra Occitania Pomerania Rhineland Savoy Scotland Sorbia Trieste Ulster Venice Wales Wallonia Westphalia

Eastern Europe Releasable

Albania Belarus Bosnia-Herzegovina Bulgaria Crete Crimea Croatia Danzig Estonia Galicia-Lodomeria Hungary Kazan Latvia Lithuania Mountain Republic Sapmi Scania Slovakia Slovenia Transylvania Ukraine

Anatolia/Arabia/Caucasus region

Azal Bahrain Chechnya Circassia Hedjaz Jabal Shammar Kathiri Lahej Mahra Nejd Oman Trucial States Turkey

Central Asia/Persia region

Afghanistan Bukhara Kalat Khiva Kishi Zhuz Kokand Makran Orta Zhuz Persia Uly Zhuz

Himalayas region

Bhutan Nepal Sikkim Tibet

North India region

Awadh Baroda Bhopal Bikaner Bundelkhand East India Company Gwalior Indore Jaipur Jaisalmer Jodhpur Kutch Mewar Punjab Sindh

South India region

Bastar Hyderabad Mysore Nagpur Orissa Travancore

Formable

Arabia Baluchistan Byzantium India Kazakhstan Transcaucasia Turkestan Yemen

Releasable

Armenia Assam Assyria Azerbaijan Bengal Ceylon Cyprus Dagestan Don Cossack Host Emirate of Transjordan Georgia Hazarajat Iraq Israel Kalmykia Kashmir Kurdistan Lebanon Manipur Palestine Perm Siberia Syria Turkmenia Tuva Uyghuristan

Indochina region

Burma Cambodia Champassak Chiang Mai Dai Nam Johore Luang Prabang Perak Selangor Siam

Indonesia region

Aceh Bali Banjar Brunei Bulungan Buton Dutch East Indies Jambi Kutai Lanfang Maguindanao Philippines Pontianak Sambas Siak Sintang Sulu Surakarta Tidore Yogyakarta

N. China/Japan/Manchuria region

China Japan Korea

Oceania region

Hawaii Kaurna New South Wales South Australia Tahiti Tasmania United Tribes Western Australia

Formable

Aotearoa Australia Indonesia Laos Polynesia

Releasable

Ezo Hathawaddy Java Kachin Kalimantan Kamchatka Karen Khmu Manchuria New Zealand Toba Tungus Vientiane Yakutia

Chinese releasable

Anhui Da Cheng Formosa Guizhou Hunan Mongolia Qian Shandong Shanxi Sichuan Xibei Yuanzhumin Yue Yunnan Zhili

Canada/Pacific Coast region

Hudson Bay Company Ontario Oregon Quebec

Dixie/New England region

America Indian Territory New Brunswick Nova Scotia Texas

Brazil/La Plata region

Argentina Brazil Chile Grão-Pará Paraguay Piratini Uruguay

Central America/Mexico/Caribbean region

Central America Cuba Haiti Mexico Miskitia

Gran Colombia/The Andes region

Bolivia Colombia Ecuador Peru Venezuela

Formable

Canada Free States of America Gran Colombia West Indies

North America Releasable

Anahuac California Cherokee Deseret Haudenosaunee Louisiana Métis Michigan New Africa New England Newfoundland Nunavut Pueblo Río Grande

Central/South America Releasable

Amazonia Angola Janga Aymara Bahamas Costa Rica El Salvador Guarani Guatemala Honduras Jamaica Los Altos Maya Nicaragua Panama Puerto Rico Santo Domingo Tawantinsuyu Yucatán

Revolter/Special

Columbia Confederate States of America Free State Heavenly Kingdom Hindustan Ladakh Natalia Paris Commune Zanzibar

African decentralized countries

Adagh Ahaggar Air Anyi Azande Bamum Bangala Barotse Basuto Baule Bemba Bobangi Bundu Cayor Chokwe Dar Fertit Dar al Kuti Dinka Duala Ewe Fang Gogo Griqualand Hehe Hemba Herero Igbo Jolof Kaabu Kabadougou Kasanje Kazembe Kikuyu Kong Kru Kuba Lega Loango Luba Lunda Luo Mandinka Mangbetu Manica Maravi Masai Maseko Mashona Matabele Mossi Nama Nuer Nyamwezi Oualata Ovimbundu Sahrawi Sangu Serer Susu Teke Tibesti Toposa Trarza Tswana Tuat Turkana Yaka

American decentralized countries

Absaroka Apache Arapaho Comanche Guarani Iron Confederacy Lakota Mapuche Navajo Niitsitapi Nimíipuu Pawnee Selk'nam Tehuelche Ute

Asian/Oceanian decentralized countries

Ainu Mosir Bilua Fiji Halia Kanak Micronesia Nauru Ngāi Tahu Ngāti Toa Papua Sakhalin Sulawesi Tonga Vanuatu

Revolter decentralized countries

Athabaska Bassa Batonga Beja Cascadia Chewa Council of Three Fires Dakota Equatoria Gamilaraay Gao IBL Kissi Lomwe Makua Michoacán Muisca Muscogee Navajoland Noongar Nuba O'odham Country Oaxaca Orinoco Sara Sena Sukuma Tiris Tivland Tupinamba Uluru Uyao Wayuu Xhosa

Notes: This table lists playable countries divided by superregion and region. Starting countries are listed by the region of their capital state, with formable and releasable countries not present at the start listed separately by superregion. Decentralized (non-playable) and special cases are listed separately.