After the Civil War, Union soldiers could deduct the time they had served from the residency requirements.Īlthough this act was included in the Republican party platform of 1860, support for the idea began decades earlier.

Title could also be acquired after only a six-month residency and trivial improvements, provided the claimant paid the government $1.25 per acre. After five years on the land, the original filer was entitled to the property, free and clear, except for a small registration fee. Claimants were required to live on and “improve” their plot by cultivating the land. government could claim 160 acres of surveyed government land. But they all must eat and for that you must supply them with food, and that means you need fishermen and farmers, who then in turn need buildings in which to work, and which in turn means your going to need building material and people who can construct those buildings.Ĭreate your own kingdom, consisting of many thousands of tiny subjects, and make sure you look after their welfare-who knows what it might lead to.The Homestead Act, enacted during the Civil War in 1862, provided that any adult citizen, or intended citizen, who had never borne arms against the U.S. But to destroy an enemy’s castle, you must have well-equipped and highly-motivated knights, and to accomplish that you need gold for their morale and for their weapons you need iron, coal, and smiths to forge the weapons. For instance, to conquer your opponents, you must destroy their castle. Your goal is to build up a well-functioning and successful settlement, with which to conquer land and opponents. Your subjects fell trees, work in mines, produce weapons and tools, and transport building materials. You decide where and what to build, where and how to plan your roadways, where to mine for mineral resources, and where and when you want to attack your opponents.

You alone determine how your kingdom will be formed, how large it will be, whether to limit your ambitions to agriculture, breeding of stock, and fishing or whether you want to start an industrial revolution.

Haven't you always wanted to be king? Indulge your fantasy in the world of the The Settlers.

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