AHC: Sea Nomads?

A nation based a lot on mooring their ships outside of modest fortresses is fascinating. Not exactly sea nomads but still awesome.
 
I remember reading an old novel (published very early in the 20th century?) whose title was something along the lines of 'The Emperor of the Oceans', about a man who discovered a diamond meteorite and used the wealth that he obtained from selling bits of this to finance the establishment of a set of mercenary-staffed forresses for extorting tolls at various navigation choke-points around the globe...
 
My childhood idea of a vast 'city' of ships living off plunder and trade on the high seas has solidified in my mind over the past few days. My general idea is Columbus' voyage is a failure and it is only many decades later that a great and bountiful Portuguese Empire turns west to colonise the New World. In the intervening time, the main powers of Europe (ie France, Spain, Portugal, and other southern Europeans) have been contesting over Africa and Asia. Britain, united slightly earlier because Edward VI lasted longer and married into Scottish royalty, has in the meantime built a highly secretive empire in North America. Beginning in Bristol, and later in London, Plymouth and several other port cities in Britain, various companies were set up to take advantage of furs, logging and most important, fisheries. Small towns grew into cities in their own right. Because of the secrecy involved (unification of the kingdoms was complex and has left Britain quite weak militarily and unwilling to draw the attentions of the empires of Europe), immigration could not be very intense to the colonies. So the British population is concentrated around a few specific urban areas. Meanwhile, a network of Natives, who have been partially Europeanised and had time to immunise against disease has grown up.

Anyway, control over these colonies and maintenance of the alliances between the native states are held primarily by the companies who set up the colonies in the first place. Because these companies objectives clash so readily, small wars are relatively frequent. Because of this, many of the towns set up their own small navies to patrol their waters and discourage war. The companies also set up their own navies and the states did as well which lead to a significant maritime tradition amongst Britain's colonies. Well, over time, these navies merged and split with the tides. The power of the companies waned as war became less desirable and the whole system solidified pretty amicably. The navies tended to recruit from the same families, and various fishing fleets grew to be tied to different navies. These navies in turn were tied to various lords as Britain exported aristocrats to America to secure the companies control as subject to Britain.

Anyway, the Portuguese Empire has taken control of most of the Caribbean. The Aztecs have fallen, though less apocalyptically than OTL due to the disease which spread from the British colonies. It hasn't taken long for the Portuguese colonies to become cash colonies. The British, their secret now at the bag and their military having recovered significantly over the years felt confident enough to grant letters of marque to plunder Portuguese ships. That legendarily ancient alliance has now rather collapsed. The navies ships are now raiders, migrating south to plunder gold ships on their way back to Lisbon. The ships are maintained permanently and are only returning to the coast to recruit new men and let out old ones, take on supplies and fix damages. This precedes a war in which Britain successfully defends its colonies against the Portuguese. The navies are now officially sanctioned and their unofficial admirals ennobled. After the war, the result is that the navies have now become a way of life with whole communities living on board and living off some plunder unofficially and trade (those company trade convoys and fishing fleets have been absorbed into the navies) and migrating around the whole of the Atlantic as sea nomads.
 
My childhood idea of a vast 'city' of ships living off plunder and trade on the high seas has solidified in my mind over the past few days. My general idea is Columbus' voyage is a failure and it is only many decades later that a great and bountiful Portuguese Empire turns west to colonise the New World. In the intervening time, the main powers of Europe (ie France, Spain, Portugal, and other southern Europeans) have been contesting over Africa and Asia. Britain, united slightly earlier because Edward VI lasted longer and married into Scottish royalty, has in the meantime built a highly secretive empire in North America. Beginning in Bristol, and later in London, Plymouth and several other port cities in Britain, various companies were set up to take advantage of furs, logging and most important, fisheries. Small towns grew into cities in their own right. Because of the secrecy involved (unification of the kingdoms was complex and has left Britain quite weak militarily and unwilling to draw the attentions of the empires of Europe), immigration could not be very intense to the colonies. So the British population is concentrated around a few specific urban areas. Meanwhile, a network of Natives, who have been partially Europeanised and had time to immunise against disease has grown up.

Anyway, control over these colonies and maintenance of the alliances between the native states are held primarily by the companies who set up the colonies in the first place. Because these companies objectives clash so readily, small wars are relatively frequent. Because of this, many of the towns set up their own small navies to patrol their waters and discourage war. The companies also set up their own navies and the states did as well which lead to a significant maritime tradition amongst Britain's colonies. Well, over time, these navies merged and split with the tides. The power of the companies waned as war became less desirable and the whole system solidified pretty amicably. The navies tended to recruit from the same families, and various fishing fleets grew to be tied to different navies. These navies in turn were tied to various lords as Britain exported aristocrats to America to secure the companies control as subject to Britain.

Anyway, the Portuguese Empire has taken control of most of the Caribbean. The Aztecs have fallen, though less apocalyptically than OTL due to the disease which spread from the British colonies. It hasn't taken long for the Portuguese colonies to become cash colonies. The British, their secret now at the bag and their military having recovered significantly over the years felt confident enough to grant letters of marque to plunder Portuguese ships. That legendarily ancient alliance has now rather collapsed. The navies ships are now raiders, migrating south to plunder gold ships on their way back to Lisbon. The ships are maintained permanently and are only returning to the coast to recruit new men and let out old ones, take on supplies and fix damages. This precedes a war in which Britain successfully defends its colonies against the Portuguese. The navies are now officially sanctioned and their unofficial admirals ennobled. After the war, the result is that the navies have now become a way of life with whole communities living on board and living off some plunder unofficially and trade (those company trade convoys and fishing fleets have been absorbed into the navies) and migrating around the whole of the Atlantic as sea nomads.

Interesting; maybe the British Empire could evolve to be something similar to the Delian League, with each colony paying taxes in form of ships or gold looted from the Portuguese.
 
My childhood idea of a vast 'city' of ships living off plunder and trade on the high seas has solidified in my mind over the past few days.

Let us know if you start a TL. I'll read.

Also, for both this scenario and really any for this topic: vitamin C stores (limes, etm.) is a must, of course.
 
Let us know if you start a TL. I'll read.

Also, for both this scenario and really any for this topic: vitamin C stores (limes, etm.) is a must, of course.

Oh yeah. Didn't really think about that. Sounds like lime farmers are going to become fat and rich.

Some other things me and my brother played around with when we were sailing the seven seas as midshipmen of the Ship-City:
* A giant metallic pyramid in Egypt which is very steep sided and equipped with docking ports for primitive dirigibles (I was really made for this board wasn't I)
* Those crazy ice-Vikings who cling to iceburgs in North America. We only visited them for five minutes. And they weren't very friendly.
* Aztecs riding giant lizards. More than a few of the Aztecs were humanoid chameleons come to think of it...
* There was some cruel and unusual sultans who seemed to want to be beastly to us with long nasty looking knives at every possible opportunity.

Bit mental and we probably couldn't fit them into the world of the Sea Nomads.
 
Bit mental and we probably couldn't fit them into the world of the Sea Nomads.

In the bit-mental department, I started to imagine a sea studded with swampy islands where there develops a culture of aquatic-nomad clans and chiefdoms, as close a parallel to the Bedouin as you can make it. Then imagine a watery form of Islam that unites them and leads to a conquest of all the neighboring coast lands. By that point, you're really in fantasy country rather than AH.
 
In the bit-mental department, I started to imagine a sea studded with swampy islands where there develops a culture of aquatic-nomad clans and chiefdoms, as close a parallel to the Bedouin as you can make it. Then imagine a watery form of Islam that unites them and leads to a conquest of all the neighboring coast lands. By that point, you're really in fantasy country rather than AH.

The annual Water-Hajj.
 
Top