Okay, so, I had my own Alternate History dream last night.
It was pretty ASB in most aspects, but I'll explain what I knew.
My dream was being narrated by some guy who had an accent I couldn't place, and he told me part of the story of the world.
There was some native state that seemed to control North America, that did the usual fight back the Europeans blah blah blah then unite the continent blah blah blah.
Anyways, what interested me the most was when he talked about when the Arabians (I legitimately do no know how or why the Arabians would have launched an invasion of the Americas. Maybe they were a Caliphate spreading to Morocco?) sending their Great Royal Fleet, presumably filled to the brim with Men-of-War and massive multi-deckers, to invade and conquer this empire.
What he said next stunned me.
The Native American Empire obliterated the Arabian fleet through the use of what the narrator called their "Phantom Fleet"; A fleet which used hit-and-run, ambush, and guerrilla tactics, where no ship was bigger than a sloop. Basically, an organized pirate fleet.
The time frame seemed to be late 1600s early 1700s, for reference.
So, everything else ASB aside, what do you guys think? Could an organized fleet of small ships using these tactics effectively fight off a fleet of Ships-of-the-Line and the like?
EDIT: I'd also like to note that the narrator spoke of this native state in extremely hushed tones. It appeared to be overly isolationist and amazingly hostile to outsiders. Probably for good reason, mind you, but I just found it interesting that it was essentially considered a continent-spanning North Korea, at least in terms of how much other people knew about how it worked on the inside.
It was pretty ASB in most aspects, but I'll explain what I knew.
My dream was being narrated by some guy who had an accent I couldn't place, and he told me part of the story of the world.
There was some native state that seemed to control North America, that did the usual fight back the Europeans blah blah blah then unite the continent blah blah blah.
Anyways, what interested me the most was when he talked about when the Arabians (I legitimately do no know how or why the Arabians would have launched an invasion of the Americas. Maybe they were a Caliphate spreading to Morocco?) sending their Great Royal Fleet, presumably filled to the brim with Men-of-War and massive multi-deckers, to invade and conquer this empire.
What he said next stunned me.
The Native American Empire obliterated the Arabian fleet through the use of what the narrator called their "Phantom Fleet"; A fleet which used hit-and-run, ambush, and guerrilla tactics, where no ship was bigger than a sloop. Basically, an organized pirate fleet.
The time frame seemed to be late 1600s early 1700s, for reference.
So, everything else ASB aside, what do you guys think? Could an organized fleet of small ships using these tactics effectively fight off a fleet of Ships-of-the-Line and the like?
EDIT: I'd also like to note that the narrator spoke of this native state in extremely hushed tones. It appeared to be overly isolationist and amazingly hostile to outsiders. Probably for good reason, mind you, but I just found it interesting that it was essentially considered a continent-spanning North Korea, at least in terms of how much other people knew about how it worked on the inside.