As we all know the Organ Gun has nothing to do with Portugal. Its never featured prominently in the Portuguese arsenal, there are few to zero mentions of it being used by Portugal, it is simply a terrible choice that needs to go.
What would be a good option for replacement?
Aventureiros;
The lower and middle-ranking leadership of Portuguese expeditions and of the resulting overseas outposts were the fidalgos – gentlemen descended from the old knightly class.
Fidalgos, who were nobles, clad head to toe in an expensive full set of armour, always at the top commanding positions, and also formed the veritable “spearhead” of assaults. Most notably, they wielded some scary two-handed swords the Portuguese called montante.
Commerce age:
Fortress Age:
As Roger Crowley, author of “Conquerors, How Portugal forged the first Global Empire” wrote and i quote
p278 (describing fidalgos at Goa, 1512)
“[T]he nobles wished to wield their enormous two-handed swords in heroic single combat, winning booty and polishing their reputations…”
Almost every european faction has acess to the Caravel which was created by Portugal, thus putting Portugal in an odd spot.
Then why not add on what should be a Naval focused faction, the Carrack or Nau?
“The Portuguese had designed the caravel in the mid-15th century, a medium-sized ship with a low draught and lateen or triangular sails. The caravel was well-suited to exploration in unfamiliar waters but, with a maximum weight of 300 tons, it could not carry a great deal of cargo. A larger alternative was the carrack, again developed by the Portuguese, which could be up to 2,000 tons when fully loaded”
As naval warfare developed and tactics changed from boarding an enemy vessel to blasting it out of the water using cannons, so carracks evolved. Previously, many small cannons were carried on deck, but as these weapons became larger they had to be placed lower in the ship to prevent it capsizing. Consequently, gun ports were used, in effect, windows, which could be closed with a shutter when not in battle.
This added a new danger, though: flooding the vessel. Gun ports on early carracks were as little as one metre (39 inches) above the waterline. The carrack also carried an additional arsenal of small cannons in the fore and aft castles, which could be used to fire down onto the decks of an enemy ship at close quarters or present a formidable fire at the stern. A weak spot was the carrack’s bow, which could not present any artillery pieces.
I would also argue for the addition of Feitorias to the Trade Posts, instead of building a hut, a small fort could be built by the Portuguese.