Merchant Colony is more ambitious in scope than its title suggests. You are charged with the development of not just one colony, but an entire colonial empire during the Age of Exploration.

Actually, you're also a merchant prince as well...so you must not only found colonies, but build ships, load them with trade goods and commodities, and do everything you can to turn a profit through the exchange of goods at ports across the globe. Other nations (under control of the AI) will try to compete with you, and perhaps even make war on you.