Big Settlement:

Learn the Anno 1404 Big Settlement strategy: early game power, increased income, but later resource challenges.

Big settlements in Anno 1404 use more space on your island, potentially leaving little room for Resource Buildings. Population increases quicker at first, allowing you to rapidly achieve the first three levels of the tech tree. They also generate more money, which you can use to expand your settlement, build other settlements, or fund your War effort.

However, more of each resource is required for your inhabitants to level up, which may make leveling up difficult or even impossible on a resource-barren map later in the game. This will eventually slow progress up the tech tree, but a skilled player should be able to make a Metropolis even without Aristocrats.

In general, big settlements are powerful in the early game but face troubles later on. If you are playing with this kind of style, you should play aggressively, build troops early, and use your early game power to impede or destroy your opponents. If the game continues on for too long, you may find yourself at a tech disadvantage; reaching Tier 5 of the tech tree takes a lot of effort, let alone for several civilizations at once.