I believe so. At the very least, I never ran into anyone from Japan in the West Indies. I'm not surprised there was some conflict over trade, though—opening up to trade after so long spent in isolation can be difficult, especially in times like mine. What are the black ships?
Aye, it's been a great source of fascination and tall tales. I know when I was young I fancied he'd gone off to rule a little kingdom of his very own as well, but I've been at sea for long enough to know that she can be cruel and capricious even to those who love her best. Likelier to me that Every, and his share of the spoils from the Gunsway, are lying at the bottom of the sea somewhere.
The black ships were American warships that showed up at Japan and demanded the shogunate open the country to trade. Japan didn't have any ships or weapons even close to what they did at the time so it was a pretty big deal.
It'd be a pity if all that treasure went to waste, but I see what you mean. Storms or rough seas can be dangerous even for modern ships.
Right, but it also meant a lot of people lost faith in the shogunate's ability to rule and protect Japan, too. Or convinced ones who were already frustrated to do something about it.
I think normally most ships don't have to worry about running into those though. Probably.
And the Shinsengumi kept the faith even as things fell apart around them? Bit naive of them.
No, all most ships really need to worry about are storms, rogue waves, icebergs, getting too close to another ship's path, whirlpools, coming too close to land, and the occasional pirate.
I don't know if it was that simple... I mean, sure, some people probably stayed loyal just for honor's sake, at least partly, but that wasn't necessarily the only reason. The Tokugawa shogunate had been in power for a long time, so at least people already knew what they were dealing with, for example. And plenty of people were still opposed to opening the borders or allowing foreign people and goods into the country. It'd be a big change to everything, you know? So I'm sure there were a lot of reasons.
Not counting things like running low on supplies or something breaking with no way to fix it, right?
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Aye, it's been a great source of fascination and tall tales. I know when I was young I fancied he'd gone off to rule a little kingdom of his very own as well, but I've been at sea for long enough to know that she can be cruel and capricious even to those who love her best. Likelier to me that Every, and his share of the spoils from the Gunsway, are lying at the bottom of the sea somewhere.
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It'd be a pity if all that treasure went to waste, but I see what you mean. Storms or rough seas can be dangerous even for modern ships.
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Doubly so for ships like mine own Jackdaw. Especially if you happen to cross into the path of a kraken or a sea serpent. [November Was Fucking Rough.]
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I think normally most ships don't have to worry about running into those though. Probably.
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No, all most ships really need to worry about are storms, rogue waves, icebergs, getting too close to another ship's path, whirlpools, coming too close to land, and the occasional pirate.
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Not counting things like running low on supplies or something breaking with no way to fix it, right?