Part 16

Learn about Civilization IV Founding Fathers like William Penn, Alexander Von Humboldt, and Giovanni Da Verrazano, including their requirements and bonuses.

William Penn

Requires: 7012 Religion Points, 5890 Political Points

Bonuses: "+3 Crosses per Town Hall, Strengths Relations with the Natives"

This Founding Father can be useful if you are desperate for crosses or have seriously angered the natives. However, military power is generally a more decisive solution in Civilization IV.

Exploration Founding Fathers

Exploration Founding Fathers in Civilization IV generally provide extra units for your colonies or bonuses related to colonial development and discovery.

Alexander Von Humboldt

Requires: 16830 Exploration Points, 7012 Political Points

Bonuses: "50% Faster Production of College, University"

While this Founding Father speeds up the production of Colleges and Universities, it often comes late in the game when colonies are already established and may not significantly benefit from earlier education.

Giovanni Da Verrazano

Requires: 5329 Exploration Points, 2244 Political Points

Bonuses: "Provides 1 Caravel"

This Founding Father is beneficial for a starting colony as ships can be expensive, and having an extra Caravel aids in trade and transporting goods back to Europe as your colonies grow.

Gonzalo Jimenez De Quesada

Requires: 3085 Exploration Points, 1402 Political Points

Bonuses: "Reveals all Tiles with Burial Grounds, Reveals all Tiles with Ancient Ruins"

This is a highly useful Exploration Founding Father as it reveals plots that often contain valuable items or events, though some can have negative effects.

Jacques Marquette

Requires: 12622 Exploration Points, 5329 Political Points

Bonuses: "+1 Movement for Scout"

The benefit of this Founding Father is questionable, as the Scout unit is already fast, and spending a significant amount of points for a small movement increase might not be the best investment at that stage of the game.

John Smith

Requires: 9537 Exploration Points, 3927 Political Points

Bonuses: "-50% Cost of Native Land Purchasing"

This Founding Father offers a discount on purchasing Native land, which can be useful if you prefer a peaceful approach to expansion, as military conquest is presented as a more dominant strategy.

Juan Ponce De Leon

Requires: 2244 Exploration Points, 1122 Political Points

Bonuses: "2 times as likely to get Treasure from Ancient Ruins"

This Founding Father is quite useful early in the game, especially when combined with Gonzalo Jimenez De Quesada, to maximize treasure gains from Ancient Ruins.

Juan De Bermudez

Requires: 7012 Exploration Points, 3085 Political Points

Bonuses: "+1 Movement for Caravel, +1 Movement for Merchantman, +1 Movement for Galleon"

Considered one of the better Exploration Founding Fathers, this provides increased movement for various ships, which is crucial for long distances between Europe and colonies, especially on larger maps.

Lewis and Clark

Requires: 22440 Exploration Points, 9537 Political Points

Bonuses: "-50% Pioneer Equipment Required, +1 movement for Wagon Train"

While useful, these Founding Fathers are hired late in the game when Wagon Trains are already efficient and pioneers have likely established roads, making their benefit less impactful.

Pedro Alvares Cabral

Requires: 1683 Exploration Points, 841 Political Points

Bonuses: "-50% Travel Time to Europe"

This is a highly recommended Founding Father to hire early, as reducing travel time to Europe significantly saves turns for your ships, regardless of map size.