Civ 5 BNW: why are city states far tougher than major civ cities on settler?

I started a game of Civ 5 BNW with the mod that makes the USA completely broken (every important unit is upgraded, start with all 4 base techs unlocked, start with 3 settlers, 3 workers and a super strong scout) to have some conquest fun (although I forgot to actually enable the conquest victory, or any victory for that matter). I didn't have any other factions on my continent (180X96 earth with true starting locations), so I could tech up in absolute peace and quiet.

So I teched up to Peacemaker (giant death robot of the US) and started conquering the other civs: Egypt, Russia, Korea, Venice and Greece. I saved Korea for last because they were the farthest away and I would have to cross the entirety of Asia to get there. I was planning on taking over all the city states on my way there, but that actually wasn't feasible. While the cities of all other factions had extremely low defense (20-30 next to their shield icon), all the city states had stats in the mid-to high 100's, like 160-180. They could go toe to toe with my peacemakers and come out on top.

Why were those city states so damn strong? Is there a hidden effect for this somewhere?

mods civilization-5-brave-new-world

Pictures about "Civ 5 BNW: why are city states far tougher than major civ cities on settler?"

Civ 5 BNW: why are city states far tougher than major civ cities on settler? - Empire State Building in New York

Civ 5 BNW: why are city states far tougher than major civ cities on settler? - Cafes and stores at Lave Vegas Venice, Nevada, USA

Civ 5 BNW: why are city states far tougher than major civ cities on settler? - View from over sea on bridge and skyscrapers behind it

How far apart should cities be Civ 5?

Cities have to be at least 4 tiles apart from each other. That includes your cities as well as other civilizations' cities, and it prevents players from littering the map with cities.

How do city states work in Civ 5?

City-States are small independent political entities introduced in Civilization V, which could be linked in the real world to the small nations of little significance that don't have any ambitions for world domination. In essence, they are single-city civilizations that do not compete against anyone for the victory.

Should I settle on a hill Civ 5?

No. You can capture and control them making them just like another city.

Civilization V BNW C\u0026C AI Only 35 Civilizations 12#: THE CITY STATE CRASH THEROY EXPLAINED

Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Images: Jess Loiterton, Christian Catamo, Enric Cruz López, Garrison Gao