Prologue My goal here is to explain from first principles the fundamentals of trade mechanics in EU4. This will not attempt to be a comprehensive guide on all aspects of trade, but it does attempt to be a comprehensive guide and tutorial on the mechanics of trade nodes and merchants. I will try to explain the system from the ground up as well as communicate an intuitive understanding and interpretation. I will attempt to be rigorous with the mechanics but will be more brush-strokey with tactics, strategy, and modifiers (since modifiers just complicate things and in application are a part of strategy). My hope is to explain the basics…