Dealing with Foriegn Nationals

[CygnusZ]

Ever had a city return back to its "mother country" after a long war? Wish you could prevent it?

I think I may have stumbled upon a solution. When you gain a city, change all of its foreign nationals into workers, and then brings your own workers in so that it gains more of your regular citizens.

I was trying to ask Soren on the AI chat tonight if the # of foreign nationals effects the rate of defection, but I was violently disconnected, but still.. this probably should do some good I would think.

[Travathian]

As I am conquering a civ (while communist), I rush build temples/granaries/cathedrals until the population gets down to one. Then let it grow back naturally. Sure it may take a little longer, but I don't have to worry about unhappy peeps for a while. And, if for some reason it looks like I'll lose the city, I simply sell of the improvement, and the computer gets a size 1 or 2 city.

Sometimes though I end up razing towns. If I get stopped in my tracks before conquering a whole civ, the cities closest to the new border get razed, terrain improvements get sacked, and I fall back out of the neutral zone I just created. That way there's less cultural pressure from nearby cities.