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Special abilities are a new feature added into Civilization 5 that give certain civilizations bonuses. Special abilities have replaced traits from Civilization 4 (most likely to make civilizations more unique instead of two civilizations having the similar bonuses).

America - Manifest Destiny

• Land Military Units gain +1 Sight
• Gold costs of Tiles are reduced by 50%

Arabia - Trade Caravans

• Trade Routes yield a +1 Gold bonus
• Oil resources provide double quantities

Assyria - Treasures of Nineveh

• Steal an enemy technology when taking a city. Can be used only once per city.

Austria - Diplomatic Marriage

• Can spend Gold to annex or puppet an allied City-State. However, a City-state that has been ally for 5 turns was added in fall patch

Aztec - Sacrificial Captives

• Killing enemy units provides a one-time Culture bonus equal to the Strength of the killed unit (does not apply to Cities)

Babylon - Ingenuity

• Birth rate of Great Scientists is increased by 50%
• Upon discovering Writing, a Great Scientist appears at your Capital

Brazil - Carnival

• Double tourism output while in a golden age.
• Birth rate of Great Artists, Great Writers, and Great Musicians is increased by ?%

Byzantium - Patriarchate of Constantinople

• Choose one more Belief than usual when you found a Religion

Carthage - Phoenician Heritage

• All coastal Cities get a free Harbor
• Units may cross mountains after the first Great General appears at your Capital, taking 50 HP damage if they end a turn on a mountain

Celts - Druidic Lore

• Cities with an adjacent unimproved Forest tiles yield a +1 Faith bonus
• Bonus increases to +2 Faith in Cities with 3 or more adjacent unimproved Forest tiles

China - Art of War

• Birth rate of Great Generals is increased by 50%
• Great Generals provide +30% combat bonus (instead of the normal +15%)

Denmark - Viking Fury

• Embarked Units gain +1 Movement (even when disembarking)
• Disembarkation does not incur a Movement penalty
• Melee Units have no Movement cost to pillage Improvements

Egypt - Monument Builders

• Cities gain a +20% Production bonus while constructing a Wonder (also applies to National Wonders, but not Projects)

England - Sun Never Sets

• Naval and Embarked Units gain +2 Movement
• Added in Gods & Kings: Get one additional Spy

Ethiopia - Spirit of Adwa

• Units receive +20% combat bonus against larger Civilizations (based upon city count)

France

• Ancien Régime (only in vanilla and Gods & Kings)
  • Cities yield a +2 Culture bonus until you finish researching Steam Power
• City of Light (updated in Brave New World)
  • Great Work Tourism theme bonus is doubled in the Capital

Germany - Furor Teutonicus

• Land Unit maintenance costs are reduced by 25%
• Defeating a Barbarian Unit within an Encampment has a 50% chance of converting the unit to your side and providing a reward of 25 Gold

Greece - Hellenic League

• City-State Influence degrades half as fast (while allied) and recovers twice as fast (while angry)

Huns - Scourge of God

• Start the game with Animal Husbandry already discovered
• Pastures yield a +1 Production bonus
• Raze conquered cities twice as fast

Inca - Great Andean Road

• Units ignore Movement costs of Hill tiles (but not Forest/Hill or Jungle/Hill tiles)
• Roads and Railroads built on Hills have no Maintenance cost
• Roads and Railroads not built on Hills have half the normal Maintenance cost

India - Population Growth

• Unhappiness from Population is halved
• Unhappiness from Cities is doubled

Indonesia - Spice Islanders

• The first two cities to be settled by Indonesia on a continent other than their capital's grant +2 unique luxury resources. These cities cannot be razed.

Iroquois - The Great Warpath

• Forest and Jungle tiles within friendly territories provide a Movement bonus equal to that of a Road
• Upon discovering The Wheel, Forest and Jungle tiles within friendly territories serve as if they had a Road built on them when determining Trade Routes

Japan - Bushido

• Units fight at full Strength even while damaged

Korea - Scholars of the Jade Hall

• Specialists yield a +2 Science bonus
• Great Person Improvements yield a +2 Science bonus
• A tech boost is awarded whenever a Science Building or Science National Wonder is completed at the Capital (equal to Research Agreement tech boost, Scientific World Wonders do not count)

Maya - The Long Count

• Upon discovering Theology, a Great Person of your choice appears at your Capital every 394 years (equal to the length of a Mayan calendar cycle; not to be confused with turns)

Mongolia - Mongol Terror

• Military Units gain +30% combat bonus against City-States and their Units
• Mounted Units gain +1 Movement

Morocco - Gateway to Africa

• Receive +3 Gold and +1 Culture for each international trade route with a different civ or city-state.
• The trade route owners receive +2 Gold for each trade route sent to Morocco.

Netherlands - East India Company

• Retain 50% of the happiness benefits from a luxury resource if your last copy of it is traded away

Ottoman - Barbary Corsairs

• Naval Unit maintenance costs are reduced by 67%
• Only in vanilla: Moving adjacent to a Barbarian Naval Unit has a 50% chance of converting it to your side and providing a reward of 25 Gold
• Updated in Gods & Kings: All Melee Naval Units start with the "Prize Ships" promotion

Persia - Achaemenid Legacy

• Golden Ages last 50% longer
• During a Golden Age, all Units gain +1 Movement and +10% combat bonus while attacking (movement bonus also applies to civilian units)

Poland - Solidarity

• Receive a free social policy whenever you advance to the next era

Polynesia - Wayfinding

• Units can immediately Embark over Coasts and Oceans
• Embarked Units gain +1 Sight
• Moais you control provide +10% combat bonus to nearby Units (multiple Moais don't stack, and this bonus does not stack with the Maori Warrior bonus either)

Portugal - Mare Clausum

• Resource diversity grants twice as much Gold for Portugal in international trade routes.

Rome - The Glory of Rome

• Cities gain a +25% Production bonus while constructing a Building that has already been built at your Capital

Russia - Siberian Riches

• Tiles with Strategic Resources yield a +1 Production bonus
• Horse, Iron, and Uranium resources provide double quantities

Siam - Father Governs Children

• Food, Faith, and Culture from City-States are increased by 50%

Songhai - River Warlord

• Receive triple Gold when pillaging Cities and clearing Barbarian Encampments (double in vanilla)
• Only in vanilla: Embarked units can defend themselves
• Updated in Gods & Kings: All Land Units start with the "Amphibious" and "War Canoes" promotions

Spain - Seven Cities of Gold

• Receive 100 Gold when discovering a Natural Wonder (500 Gold if you are the first to discover it)
• Happiness from discovering Natural Wonders is doubled
• Tile yields from Natural Wonders are doubled

Sweden - Nobel Prize

• Gain 90 Influence with a Great Person gift to a City-State
• Birth rate of Great People is increased by 10% while declaring friendship (the Civilization you declared friendship also gets this bonus)

Zulu - ?

• Melee Units maintenance costs are reduced by 50%
• All Military Units receive a +25% experience bonus from combat