Pirates of the Indian Ocean

//Pirates of the Indian Ocean// is a scenario-based game which immerses you in the realities of a pirate's life You will take the role of Captain John Taylor, an English pirate who sailed and terrorised the Indian Ocean from 1718-1723. The scenarios are an abstraction of the violence, trade, diplomacy, and shipboard grooming which he was recorded to have undertook. This game is meant to challenge you, both cognitively to the reality of a pirate's life beyond Jack Sparrow-esque fantasies, and to the difficulties of managing men, money, and ship to survive in dangerous waters. (click:?page)+(t8n:"dissolve")[Welcome to the Indian Ocean.] (click-goto:?page,"Orienting to the Indian Ocean")

The Indian Ocean is vast, and there are many territories which you as a first-time player may not be familiar with. Thankfully, the developers of //Europa Universalis IV// created a game which allows a mostly-accurate view of the political geography of the 1718s. You will be guided along in the decisions to take based on how the map looks. [[(Click here) Start the game]] [[References of historical sources]] <img src=https://i.postimg.cc/jdL1tVf5/Screenshot-2022-03-27-064355.jpg>(t8n-depart:"dissolve")(click-goto:?page,"Story Start 1")

The year is 1718. The Golden Age of European Piracy. "Captain, we've spied land! It's the Cape! God charges us with his mercy and grace" Despite being parasites of mankind, many a pirate were devout in one way or another. Such is the result of living close to death on a wooden craft far out on open sea. Through the eyes of Captain John Taylor, you see the jut of the Cape of Good Hope as your ships cruise past. It is a beautiful sight - and one which signals to you the new territory which you will call home or grave. The vastness of the Indian Ocean. [[You take stock of your surroundings]] {(set: $Madagascar to false)(set: $Bombay to false)(set: $Surat to false)(set: $LinkUp to false)}

Luck does not favour Captain John Taylor's side. With only the //Victory// and //Fancy// at hand, two 34-gun galleys, and 100 men on deck. However, fortune does favour the bold. And right in between Madagascar and the coast of present-day Mozambique (controlled by the Portugese), Captain John Taylor has to make a decision on which path to thread. The goal is survival. Captain John Taylor has to ensure the proper management of three resources: men, ship, and gold. Plundering ships will result in gains of men, ship, and //trade resource//. But only gold can be used to purchase resupplies and repairs, and gold has to be traded for with trade resources in select ports. {(put: 100 into $manpower)(put: 2 into $ships)(put: 0 into $trade_resources)(put: 50 into $gold)(set: $massacre to false)} ''Resources'' Manpower = (print: $manpower) Ships = (print: $ships) Trade Resources = (print: $trade_resources) Gold = (print: $gold) [[It's time to make a choice]] <img src=https://i.postimg.cc/tJMpJhDV/Screenshot-2022-03-28-064105.jpg>

What is the next course that you will take as Captain? Click on each option to view the map. Whether you will gain or lose your precious resource is all up to fate and your will to live. *Tip: Some options require 2 or more ships to advance. ''Resources'' Manpower = (print: $manpower) Ships = (print: $ships) Trade Resources = (print: $trade_resources) Gold = (print: $gold) (if: $Madagascar is false)[[Raid the towns along the Western Madagascan coast]] (if: ($Bombay is false) and ($ships >= 2))[[Sail closer to Bombay to seek out English East Indian Company ships to attack]] (if: ($Surat is false) and ($ships >=2))[[Attempt to trade with the Indian-Mughal coast city of Surat]] [[Trade in your trade resources at Mozambique]] (if: $LinkUp is false)[[Traverse the Indian Ocean to link up with other pirates to form a formidable fleet]] (if: ($Madagascar is true) and ($Bombay is true) and ($Surat is true and $LinkUp is true))[[End the game]]

The western coastal Madagascan towns are largely defenceless, though they do not yield much resources. Your men will have to disembark and fight ashore, and though they will face some resistance, they will likely prevail. It is a strategic move for some easy pickings, and for your men to get their landlegs back with some 'training'. However, knowing the violent nature of your men, expect a massacre to come...and the blood of innocents on your hands [[Initiate the raid]] [[Return to the drawing board->It's time to make a choice]] <img src=https://i.postimg.cc/kg1JpPWy/Screenshot-2022-03-28-071303.jpg>

Bombay is the pearl of the English crown in India. Leased to the East India Company for a small sum of £10 per annum, it is a hive of ships coming in and out, bringing in English silver and returning prized goods to Europe. This means there is a ripe opportunity to seize the trade goods-bearing East Indiamen. One small problem: these ships travel in convoys with armed galleys. One convoy, leaving Bombay as you approach, consists of 10 ships - 6 well-stocked East Indiamen, and 4 galleys. [[Evaluate the situation]] <img src=https://i.postimg.cc/v8rnTXRd/Screenshot-2022-03-28-080131.jpg>

The Mughal coast city of Surat is a regional entrepot. Merchants frequent the bazaar to trade in gold and textile. The trade resources obtained by your ships will be of great value, trading at a price of 1 trade resource for 1.5 pieces of gold. A good bargain that you will not have anywhere else. Trouble is, the waters on the way to Surat is guarded by Malabar pirates. Backed by powerful merchant communities called Moplahs, the paraoas were manned by 20-30 oarsmen each, had great manoeuvrability, and armed to the teeth with artillery and musketeers on the deck. They have been around for over 4 centuries, and know what a Jolly Roger flag means - ripe pickings for them. What would you have done? [[Proceed on to Surat]] [[Back to the drawing board->It's time to make a choice]] <img src=https://i.postimg.cc/v8rnTXRd/Screenshot-2022-03-28-080131.jpg>

Gathering your crew, you announce your intention, only to be shouted down by a chorus of angry voices. "We did not travel half the world to search meekly for others who may take our prize. We are here to take what is ours!" "The barbarians here are exposed and ready to be raided. Why should we wait? Are we not pirates out to kill?" The pirate brotherhood was one of equal individuals. Without laws nor the firing squad to enforce the king's and God's will onto them, the pirates were entitled to an equal vote on matters on where the ships were to sail. With the vote casting no, it is back to the drawing board - and a more careful decision to be made, less they mutiny against a Captain they wholeheartedly lose faith in.(set: $LinkUp to true) [[Option without linking up with pirates->It's time to make a choice]]

Splitting up the //Victory// and //Fancy// to two separate towns, you travel with the //Victory// to the southern, exposed, and unfortunate town. Arriving at the scene, your men close the distance from ship to shore on rowboats. Musketeers shoot at curious villagers congregating close the shorefront to receive the strangers. They cause a racket, making noise and killing none until they eventually get in range. The story was written even before it happened: a massacre. Men perish. Women become captives. Children are found tucked away in homes or crying beside their dead parents. The village burns into nothingness. You lose 5 men in the fight, but gain 10 trade resources. It is time to pack up the loot, and make a decision. "Captain, what will you have done with these women and children?" (set: $manpower to it -5) (set: $trade_resources to it +10) ''Resources'' Manpower = (print: $manpower) Ships = (print: $ships) Trade Resources = (print: $trade_resources) Gold = (print: $gold) (t8n-time:6s)[[Send them to their husbands and fathers->Send them to their husbands and fathers]] [[Spare them]]

"But, at the sight of the ships, the inhbitants fled off in boats to the neighbouring Islands leaving abundance of women and children hidden in the bushes, whic the Pirates found and forced to their barbarous inclinations" A true encounter, recounted by Richard Lazenby, a captive of Captain John Taylor, who witnessed a raid on the Island of Amendivi (set: $massacre to true) [[Next]](t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")+(t8n-time:1.2s)(click-goto:?page,"Next")

The men protest. Their bloodlust has been roused, but not satiated. "Kill these barbarians! They took the lives of Jacob and Willem!" "Good men, them. And now there is a price to pay!" As you order the men to return to the ships or face the trial of mutiny, you hear mumblings behind you. Rumours of a weak-willed captain with a soft stomach and incapacity to eke out justice for his men. A pirate captain leads with the vote of his men. This spells trouble. (set: $Madagascar to true) [[Head off to make repairs and replenishments]]

Soon after you depart for the Victory, the news of the murders you participated in spread across the Indian Ocean like wildfire. The Madagascan Kingdom of Sakalava, the very same whose people you attacked, begins mobilizing its forces to station along the coast. Raiding again would be riskier and costlier from now on. Portugese and English merchants in the area bring word back to their respective forts. You, Captain John Taylor, an English pirate, stir controversy around the English name. Bathed in notriety and scandal, the East India Company calls foul, and begin ordering their ships to hunt you down. The Portugese, Dutch, and French, long-time competitors of the English, begin looking closely at your exploit with interest. Maybe there is something to be gained in supporting you, after all. (set: $Madagascar to true) [[Head off to make repairs and replenishments]]

A ship is a wooden world out on the open sea. But it is not a world that is self-sustaining. Food and drinks needed to be resupplied, and repairs that can only be made on shore with materials fetched from nearby forests. A popular destination for many a English pirate on the Indian Ocean is French Mauritius. A small island off the coast of Madagascar, and far away from any French authority, the colonists were happy to service any ship that came in with coin. It is an unescapable fact that you have to pay to service your ships and men after every encounter. At French Mauritius, a reasonable price of 15 gold per ship is the fee. You pay (print: $ships*15) gold pieces for your motely fleet. (set: $gold to it -$ships*15) ''Resources'' Manpower = (print: $manpower) Ships = (print: $ships) Trade Resources = (print: $trade_resources) Gold = (print: $gold) [[Back to the drawing board->It's time to make a choice]] (if: $massacre is true)[[(Unlocked Condition) A letter arrives -> A letter arrives]]

From the crows nest, your Barrelman calls out the ships in the convoy. Just 4 armed ships, equal to your own in size, but nothing compared to your crew's skills, stands in your way of 6 East Indiamen ripe for the picking. It will be a tough fight, and a strategy must be devised. But taking the time to execute it will likely mean that some of the East Indiamen would escape. Charging in means certain death, but it is an option either way. It would mean seizing all 6 East Indiamen and all their loot. Fleeing too, is an option. No man would demand for a ticket to hell in the face of it. "What would you have us do, Captain?" [[Attack the convoy head-on]] [[Enact a diversion to split the convoy in two]] [[Flee]] <img src=https://i.postimg.cc/25W6J8rf/Screenshot-2022-03-28-075930.jpg>

Casting sails and oars, your ships bear down on the English convoy as they attempt to head North. Spotting your advance, the 4 galleys turn hard portside and bear down on you. Cannons flare. The crack of the muskets begin to sound. Your crew cheers and chant war cries as you bear down on the English ships, the tailwind propelling your ships forward with terrifying abandon. Using the wind to your advantage, you order your ships to turn starboard to present the incoming English with your cannons. The cannonballs from the your ships score lucky shots, tearing through the length of two of the incoming galleys. Two enemy ships down, two remain. [[Continue attacking]] <img src=https://s26162.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Henry-Every-Time-to-Eat-the-Dogs-Podcast.jpg>

This is the prudent, if not risky move in terms of profits. Your ships begin firing cannons from afar, staying out of range of the English galleys as they try to close the distance on the Jolly Roger. As you slowly pull away from the English ships, they realise how far they have strayed from the East Indiamen, and pull back in retreat to defend the convoy. This is exactly what you hoped for. As the distraction fire carries into the night, the English convoy, looking no better than a herd of lost sheep, stall as they attempt to figure their next move. Eventually, they split - half moving north while the other moves north-west. With great speed, they attempt to throw off their pursuers in the cover of night. But having fought the English before in the Carribeans, you know better than to split your ships. [[Chase the north-westward convoy down]] <style> img { max-width:100%; max-height: 100%; } </style> <img src=https://w0.peakpx.com/wallpaper/393/451/HD-wallpaper-pirate-battle-assassins-creed-battle-black-flag-pirate-pirates-ship-ships.jpg> </div>

Your ships about-turn. It is not worth fighting a battle when it is guaranteed that lives will be lost. The pirates lot are not bound by suicidal military doctrines and honour, after all. Your crew approves your decision. They may follow you into hell, but they are as happy leaving it for another day. [[Time to make another choice->It's time to make a choice]] (set: $Bombay to true)

Just as the //Victory// and //Fancy// attempt to clear the incoming ships, the 2 English galleys pivot and give chace on the //Fancy//. Despite losing half their battle power, the English had not lost their tactics. Surrounding the starboard and rear of the //Fancy//, both English ships open fire. It is a doomed battle. The //Fancy// did not go down fighting. Bearing too close to the ship, the English galleys were struck by the ignited gunpowder of the //Fancy//, fire spewing down on the proud ships of His Majesty. Working to douse the flame, the 2 ships pull away from the wreckage of the //Fancy// towards shore. You've lost a ship with 50 good men, but you order the //Victory// onwards to the ripe plunder ahead: 6 completely unguarded East Indiamen. [[Plunder the 6 East Indiamen]] <style> img { max-width:100%; max-height: 100%; } </style> <img src=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/Luxborough_Galley_on_fire%2C_25_June_1727.jpg> </div>

Maintaining noise and light discipline throughout the night, your ships bear down on the 6 ship moving north-west - 2 galleys, and 3 East Indiamen. In their infinite wisdom and hubris, the English believed that they could outrun and outgun you even with 2 ships. They were wrong. Easy pickings, all. [[Plunder the 3 East Indiamen]] <style> img { max-width:100%; max-height: 100%; } </style> <img src=http://elizabethanenglandlife.com/images/Pirate-battke-1024x768.jpg> </div>

Taking the loot and securing the English captives, you take stock of your prize and what is to be had with them. The East Indiamen are not fit to sail with a pirate fleet. However, one of the galleys, the //Birmingham//, remains seaworthy. The other slowly sinks into the seafloor. Your crew looks expectantly at you. What would you will for the //Birmingham// and the 90 men before you? You cannot take more men on board the //Victory// and //Fancy//, they will have to stay on the //Birmingham//, if you keep it of course. (set: $manpower to it -50) (set: $trade_resources to it +80) (set: $Ships to it -1)You gain 80 trade resources, and lose 50 men, and a ship. (if: $trumpett is true) [You are awarded 20 additional gold pieces from the deal with Trumpett (set: $gold to it +20)] (set: $Bombay to true) ''Resources'' Manpower = (print: $manpower) Ships = (print: $ships) Trade Resources = (print: $trade_resources) Gold = (print: $gold) [[Scuttle the ship and kill the captives -> Scuttle, Lose Fancy, gain Birmingham]] [[Offer the captives the chance to swear fealty to you and the Jolly Roger, taking up arms as pirates -> Recruit, Lose Fancy, gain Birmingham]]

Taking the loot and securing the English captives, you take stock of your prize and what is to be had with them. The East Indiamen are not fit to sail with a pirate fleet. However, one of the galleys, the //Birmingham//, remains seaworthy. The other slowly sinks into the seafloor. Your crew looks expectantly at you. What would you will for the //Birmingham// and the 90 men before you? You cannot take more men on board the //Victory// and //Fancy//, they will have to stay on the //Birmingham//, if you keep it of course. (set: $trade_resources to it +40)You gain 40 trade resources. (if: $trumpett is true) [You are awarded 20 additional gold pieces from the deal with Trumpett (set: $gold to it +20)] (set: $Bombay to true) ''Resources'' Manpower = (print: $manpower) Ships = (print: $ships) Trade Resources = (print: $trade_resources) Gold = (print: $gold) [[Scuttle the ship and kill the captives -> Scuttle]] [[Offer the captives the chance to swear fealty to you and the Jolly Roger, taking up arms as pirates -> Recruit, gain Birmingham]]

As the //Victory// and //Fancy// near the gulf where Surat is located, the Malabar pirates, with their cove across the strait from Surat, left to intercept the incoming vessels. Their nets of information are wide indeed. Not only did they know of the incoming vessels, but that the ships of Captain John Taylor can be overwhelemed with numbers. 10 paraoas bore down on the larger ships. Piranhas on a buffalo. What would you have your ships do? [[Flee with all ships -> Dead, game over]] [[Engage the Malabar pirates -> Dead, game over]] [[Leave one ship as a rearguard while the other retreats]] <style> img { max-width:100%; max-height: 100%; } </style> <img src=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sebastian-Prange/publication/283585389/figure/fig2/AS:422541685727234@1477753196697/A-depiction-of-Maratha-grabs-attacking-an-English-ship-in-the-early-eighteenth-century.png> </div>

Leaving the captives on board the //Birmingham//, the //Victory// blows a hole through the hull. The ship sinks, along with the tied-up captives on deck. They plea for mercy and say their last prayers. [[Head off to make repairs and replenishments]]

Standing before the 90 bound captives on deck, you command them: take up arms in the brotherhood of the black flag you sail under, or perish in the sea. 60 men accept your offer. 30 cling to their stupid honour, and carry it to their watery graves. You gain 60 men, and a ship. (set: $manpower to it +60)(set: $Ships to it +1) ''Resources'' Manpower = (print: $manpower) Ships = (print: $ships) Trade Resources = (print: $trade_resources) Gold = (print: $gold) [[Head off to make repairs and replenishments]]

Standing before the 90 bound captives on deck, you command them: take up arms in the brotherhood of the black flag you sail under, or perish in the sea. 60 men accept your offer. 30 cling to their stupid honour, and carry it to their watery graves. (set: $manpower to it +60)(set: $ships to it +1) You gain 60 men, and a ship. ''Resources'' Manpower = (print: $manpower) Ships = (print: $ships) Trade Resources = (print: $trade_resources) Gold = (print: $gold) [[Head off to make repairs and replenishments]]

From the stories you heard of pirates who miraculously survived the Malabar pirates, you know that it is impossible to escape them entirely. One ship has to be sacrificed while the rest escapes. This is what you had done. From the deck of the //Victory//, you see the other ship surrounded by the Malabar pirates. Boarding your doomed ship, they swarm and overwhelm the desperate defenders. Irony it is, that you head off with the //Victory//. It did not feel like such. You lose one ship (set: $ships to it -1)(set: $Surat to true) ''Resources'' Manpower = (print: $manpower) Ships = (print: $ships) Trade Resources = (print: $trade_resources) Gold = (print: $gold) [[Head off to make repairs and replenishments]]

You stood no chance to the Malabar pirates' speed, manuverability, familiarty with the terrain, and experience in hunting down European ships. All hands lost on deck. Your next destination is Davy Jone's Locker. (click:?page)+(t8n:"blur")+(t8n-time:5s)[Game Over]

As you order your men back onto ship, calling upon your lieutenants to haul the rum-wasted ones by force, a runner comes in from the Governor's house. "Captain John Taylor! High-priority delivery in the mail came in - said that this would reach out when you came by Mauritius." Someone knew not only of your exploits, but correctly guessed where pirates would frequent in the Indian Ocean. This might be dangerous. Opening the letter, the content comes as a curious surprise. A dutch merchant trader, going by the name of Trumpett, beseeches you to meet in port at Cochin, where he promises you rewards and an offer to the fight against the English East India Company. Having saw the reputational damage done to the English by your raids on Madagascar, he claims you as a worthy ally, and offers his resources. The city of Cochin, on the coast of India, is a trading hub controlled by the Dutch East India Company. It may very well be a threat - but the offer of alliance sounds credible in this region far away from European law and justice. What will you do? [[Sail to Cochin]] [[Decline the offer and go back to the drawing board->It's time to make a choice]]

Cochin was a hive of activity. Ships of various flags and designs moved in and out like clockwork. It was certainly no place to fly the Jolly Roger. But this far out from any central European government, it is still possible for a pirate ship to enter into port. Pulling into port, there was no warning shot to be heard of. Rather, at the rendezvous, there was a man with a red flag stand - a confirmation of the meeting place. John Trumpett, a merchant of the Dutch East India company, welcomes you and your crew with open arms - and a boatload of liquor, sugarcane, and elaborate gifts. This was no trick. Rather, John Trumpett sought to strike a deal. Attack the English, and for every ship sunk, he will give a discount on goods that pirates prize the most - water, rum, sugarcane, ball, and shot. And of course, 20 additional gold pieces. There was nothing else but to happily accept this genetlmens' deal.(set: $trumpett to true)(set: $massacre to false) [[Back to the drawing board->It's time to make a choice]] <img src=https://i.postimg.cc/kg5GfGxY/Screenshot-2022-03-28-233238.jpg>

There are many more adventures to be had, and the possibilities are endless. It is this producer's hope that you learnt a little more about the pirate life, and how the Indian Ocean was during the Golden Age of Piracy. Support me on Patreon. Thank you. ''Resources'' Manpower = (print: $manpower) Ships = (print: $ships) Trade Resources = (print: $trade_resources) Gold = (print: $gold) (click:?page)+(t8n:"blur")+(t8n-time:5s)[Game Over]

At the Portugese-controlled colony of Mozambique, you find a small market at the capital of "Stone Town". It is nothing in size compared to that of Sulat, hence you can only bargain a deal of 1 trade resource for 1 piece of gold. You traded in (print: $trade_resources) trade resources for (print: $trade_resources) pieces of gold. (set: $gold to it +$trade_resources)(set: $trade_resources to it -$trade_resources) ''Resources'' Manpower = (print: $manpower) Ships = (print: $ships) Trade Resources = (print: $trade_resources) Gold = (print: $gold) [[Back to the drawing board->It's time to make a choice]]

Charles Grey, ed., Pirates of the Eastern Seas: 1618-1723 <London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co., Ltd., 1933>, 316-329. The deposition in Grey’s compilation is incomplete, missing the first paragraph. See also Richard Carnac Temple and Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarkar, “No. 97. Letter from Richard Lazenby,” Indian Antiquary 49 (1984): 40-42, as supplementary. Sebastian R. Prange, “A Trade of No Dishonor: Piracy, Commerce, and Community in the Western Indian Ocean, Twelfth to Sixteenth Century,” The American Historical Review 116, no. 5 (2011), 1291. Virginia W. Lunsford, "A Model of Piracy: The Buccaneers of the 17th Century," in The Golden Age of Piracy: The Rise, Fall, and Enduring Popularity of Pirates, ed. David Head <Georgia: University of Georgia Press, 2018>. 129-145. Ruby Maloni and Ruby Malony, "PIRACY IN INDIAN WATERS IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY," Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, Vol. 52 (1991): 410-415. [[Back->Orienting to the Indian Ocean]]