Games PC SID MEIER S-PIRATES-ERAS AND POINTS OF CALL User Manual

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The world, as reflected in the Caribbean, was changing very quickly in the 17th century. The
conflicts of Europe were simultaneously playing out in the blue seas of the Americas.

The ebb and flow of these conflicts was reflected in the number and status of all the
major European outposts in the Caribbean, and this constant alignment and realignment
shaped how privateers could make a living.

In Sid Meier's Pirates!, you may start your game in any of the five eras of the 17th century.
Each era dictates how many ports there are, how many belong to which power, and with what
kind of ship, crew, and cannon your pirate will begin.

This chapter outlines the political landscape in each era.

NOTE

If a port is highlighted in bold, it means it was not present in the previous era.
If it's in italics, it means the port existed previously but appears no longer.

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Eras and Points of Call

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Start Dates

1600—MERCHANTS AND SMUGGLERS

Dutch Ports: 1

English Ports: 2

French Ports: 2

Spanish Ports: 22

TOTAL: 27

Ports

Caracas (Spanish)

Cartagena (Spanish)

Coro (Spanish)

Cumana (Spanish)

Eleuthera (English)

Florida Keys (French)

Gibraltar (Spanish)

Grand Bahama (English)

Gran Grenada (Spanish)

Havana (Spanish)

Maracaibo (Spanish)

Margarita (Spanish)

Nombre de Dios (Spanish)

Panama (Spanish)

Puerto Bello (Spanish)

Puerto Cabello (Spanish)

Puerto Principe (Spanish)

Rio de la Hacha (Spanish)

San Juan (Spanish)

Santa Marta (Spanish)

Santiago (Spanish)

Santo Domingo (Spanish)

St. Augustine (Spanish)

St. Martin (Dutch)

Tortuga (French)

Vera Cruz (Spanish)

Villa Hermosa (Spanish)

Starting Ship, Crew, and Cannon

Country Ship Crew Cannon

Dutch Fluyt 20 12

English Merchantman 50 12

French Sloop 40 8

Spanish Pinnace 20 8

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1620—THE N

EW COLONISTS

Dutch Ports: 2

English Ports: 3

French Ports: 3

Spanish Ports: 24

TOTAL: 32

Ports

Starting Ship, Crew, and Cannon

Country Ship Crew Cannon

Dutch Brig 50 8

English Brigantine 40 10

French Barque 40 10

Spanish Pinnace 20 8

Barbados (English)

Campeche (Spanish)

Caracas (Spanish)

Cartagena (Spanish)

Coro (Spanish)

Cumana (Spanish)

Curacao (Dutch)

Eleuthera (English)

Florida Keys (French)

Gibraltar (Spanish)

Grand Bahama (English)

Gran Grenada (Spanish)

Havana (Spanish)

Maracaibo (Spanish)

Margarita (Spanish)

Nombre de Dios (Spanish)

Panama (Spanish)

Petit Goave (French)

Puerto Bello (Spanish)

Puerto Cabello (Spanish)

Puerto Principe (Spanish)

Rio de la Hacha (Spanish)

San Juan (Spanish)

Santa Marta (Spanish)

Santiago (Spanish)

Santo Domingo (Spanish)

St. Augustine (Spanish)

St. Martin (Dutch)

Tortuga (French)

Trinidad (Spanish)

Vera Cruz (Spanish)

Villa Hermosa (Spanish)

Seafaring and Crew Morale

Pirates live and die on the high seas, but just having a ship to call your own doesn't make
you a successful or famous pirate. Fame requires sailing the seven seas with skill, purpose,
and a deft navigational hand, taming the winds, knowing your ship, and being ready for
everything.

It also requires something not so obvious: a strong and loyal crew. Without them, you
might as well just be floating around on a plank of driftwood for all the good it'll do ye.
Keeping a crew happy and loyally serving your purposes is a matter of feeding their morale.

This chapter will explain everything about riding the Caribbean waves and becoming a
leader of strong, salty men who say "Yar!"

Seafaring

Running a tight ship is one of the keys to a productive pirating career, and the key to that
elusive skill is knowing how ships function.

U

SING THE WIND

Ships of the time were, of course, driven by the wind. Since wind tends to blow in only one
direction (rather than the more convenient but meteorologically impossible many directions),
where your ship can go and how fast it can travel are at the mercy of the breeze.

Still, the shipwrights of the era were pretty smart cookies, and they devised ways for
ships to travel in several (though not all) directions relative to the direction of the wind.

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Which ways a ship can sail
is a matter of at which
"points of sailing" it
travels best. Points of
sail are 16 directions
relative to wind
direction as shown
in the image below.

Sailing in the same
direction as the wind is
blowing is referred to as "running
before the wind," while sailing perpen­dicular to the wind is called "beam reach." Sailing "into the eye
of the wind" (or in the opposite direction of the wind) is always a bad idea; it will bring your ship
to a standstill as your sails helplessly luff (or, at higher difficulty levels, drive it backwards).

The points of sailing

TI

P

The direction of the wind is represented by a red arrow on your compass
in the lower left of the screen. It can also be observed, perhaps more
informatively, by looking at the long, narrow flag flapping from your
flagship's main mast. This flag always blows in the direction of the wind.