Rice Farming Estates (ETW building)
| Rice Farming Estates | |
|---|---|
| Category: | Farm |
| Level: | 2 |
| Turns to build: | 2 |
| Building cost: | 900 |
| |
| Requires | |
 Rice Farms | |
| Technology | |
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Large plantations allow for capital investment in rice production and planning beyond the next harvest. Yields can rise as a result.
The key, of course, to all large estates is the profit to be made by the owners and a general increase in trade beyond immediate markets. Plantations are hacked out of the surrounding forests and land made productive if there is a home market to be satisfied. Foodstuffs always find a ready market, and rice is an easy commodity to ship without too much spoilage.
Historically, rice growing eventually became an important part of the economy in colonial Georgia and Carolina and, in turn, had a direct impact on the already-thriving slave trade. Slaves from rice-growing areas of Africa attracted a premium price because they were more useful to plantation owners, and this naturally influenced where slave traders procured their unfortunate wares. Knowledgeable Africans were victimised by the trade and shipped to America precisely because of their skills; a strong back was always useful, but a skilled labourer was much more useful – and profitable.