History

Ships of 1715

In 1715 the sea was crowded with ships of every size, from dugout canoes with a sail to fifty-gun warships. Silver & Sails has 14 real types. Here is what each one looked like, who sailed it and what it was for.

Periagua

8 tons of cargo in the game · 300 pieces of eight

A giant dugout canoe with oars and sails: the workboat of the coasts and many a pirate’s first vessel.

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Ketch

15 tons of cargo in the game · 3,000 pieces of eight

Two masts and no foremast: the fishing and trading workhorse of early New England, and the navy’s floating mortar.

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Bermuda sloop

20 tons of cargo in the game · 8,000 pieces of eight

Small, fast and single-masted: the everyday trader of the Caribbean and the pirates’ favourite ship.

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Schooner

25 tons of cargo in the game · 14,000 pieces of eight

Two masts, fore-and-aft sails and a small crew: the New England fishing and trading boat that took over American waters.

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Pink

40 tons of cargo in the game · 18,000 pieces of eight

A roomy ship named for its narrow, pinched stern: cargo carrier, fishing boat, navy survey ship and pirate prize.

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Brigantine

35 tons of cargo in the game · 30,000 pieces of eight

Two masts and two kinds of sail: the handy mid-sized trader that privateers and pirates also prized.

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Snow

45 tons of cargo in the game · 45,000 pieces of eight

A roomy two-master with a small extra mast: trader, navy sloop and, too often, slave ship.

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Fluyt

80 tons of cargo in the game · 60,000 pieces of eight

Roomy, cheap and sailed by a handful of men: the Dutch cargo carrier that helped make a small country rich.

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Merchant frigate

60 tons of cargo in the game · 110,000 pieces of eight

Three masts, a hold full of cargo and a row of guns: the big ocean-going trader of 1715.

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Galleon

90 tons of cargo in the game · 160,000 pieces of eight

Tall, armed and heavily laden: the ship that carried Spain’s silver for two centuries.

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Frigate

40 tons of cargo in the game · warship

Fast, three-masted and well armed: the navy’s cruiser, convoy guard and pirate hunter.

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Man-of-War

60 tons of cargo in the game · warship

The navy’s big gun ship: what a man-of-war was, how warships were rated, and life on board.

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Xebec

30 tons of cargo in the game · cannot be bought

Long, low and fast, with lateen sails and oars: the ship of the Barbary corsairs.

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East Indiaman

100 tons of cargo in the game · 220,000 pieces of eight

Big and well armed: the company ships that carried silver to Asia and brought back pepper, cloth and tea.

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