Civilization 6: Trade Cities - basic info, types, tasks Civilization VI Game Guide
Last update: 13 March 2022
The chapter below of Civilization 6 game guide contains thorough knowledge on trade-oriented city-states in Civ 6, and a list of benefits resulting from keeping a sphere of influence in the individual cities, and the advantages stemming from taking over such a city.
Emissary Bonuses
Each of the trade cities has the same bonuses for keeping a certain number of emissaries. Remember that if you keep a certain number of representatives in more than one city, the bonuses are combined into one bigger.
Number of Emissaries | Bonus |
1 | +4 gold in the capital city |
3 | +4 gold in every Commercial Hub |
6 | additional +4 gold in every Commercial Hub |
One of the reasons why you should discover a trade city first, is a free income of 4 gold in every turn. Take notice that in the initial stages of a game, it hardly surpasses the income of your capital. To keep expanding, you should send additional emissaries to reach a threshold required for the sovereign status. For the bonus to be tolerable in relation to your contributions, you should have at least three cities with a Commercial Hub - this way you can safely increase the number of emissaries to full capacity. Of course, you shouldn't take heed if a bigger number of emissaries is necessary to keep the sovereign status in your hands.
Amsterdam
Icon | Sovereign Bonus |
 | Your Trade Routes to foreign cities earn +1 gold for each Luxury Resource available in the foreign city. |
This bonus is especially useful if you create trade routes to foreign cities. It should be mentioned that the bonus is awarded only if the target city has Luxury Resources. Before establishing a route, investigate what type of resources are at the target cities' disposal. For your trade routes, choose cities that can supply the biggest quantities of Luxury Resources. Additional gold will allow buying new military and civilian units, which will consolidate your position. Remember that only one trade route at a time can link two cities with each other, so establish a second settlement early on, so you can send another merchant to the same (resource-rich) city, resulting in your profitability going way up. If the most profitable town is farther than 15 tiles from your city, create trading posts in cities located in between.
Jakarta
Icon | Sovereign Bonus |
 | Your trading posts foreign +1 gold to Trade routes passing through. |
This bonus is especially useful in a situation where you use many trading posts to increase the range of your trade routes. Even if you use only a few, the bonus will be satisfactory, but if you have a choice between controlling Jakarta, and taking over a different trade city, make sure to make a comparison to determine keeping what city will be more profitable to you. Of course, nothing stands in the way for you to assume the mantle of a sovereign, but if you are short of some trade points, the bonus will be inadequate to your contribution. You should avoid serious investments into this area, as you need to increase the trade route limit in the first place. Everything depends on the locations of the cities, and how many foreign cities are you able to put into one trade route. Remember to have at least two cities to which you can create trade routes to multiply your gains.
Lisbon
Icon | Sovereign Bonus |
 | Your Trader units are immune to theft on water tiles. |
Remember to avoid serious scuffles for the sovereign title if you are sending your trader units with an escort, or if the map is so inhospitable that you cannot create trade routes which allow you to score the bonus. Assaults on traders cost an arm and a leg, so make sure that your profits stay on the same level. The best way of preventing such situations is an armed escort, but if your coffers cannot support guarding every route, use the bonus to avoid the risk of losing your profits from a completed route. Remember to keep adequate escort in naval trade, as it allows creating much more longer trade routes - such length for land units is available only after locating a trading point.
Zanzibar
Icon | Sovereign Bonus |
 | You receive Cinnamon and Cloves - luxury resources that cannot be acquired in any other way. They provide +6 Amenities each. |
In this case, take every step to become the sovereign. It is easy to foresee that Zanzibar will be one of the flashpoints in the scenario. Remember that a very huge happiness level in the city facilitates its growth, and the manufacturing abilities. However, don't be besotted with only the awarded bonus, as if you won't pay attention to the happiness level, the obtained profit will quickly diminish. In any case, pay attention to the situation at hand, and don't let other players take over the city. The bonuses listed above are a solid argument which calls for discovering the whole map.