Naval - History Lab

Plan of the order of battle of the armies at the Battle of Lepanto

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:32:58 +0000

The first of the Holy League’s objectives (1571) was to recruit a navy of galleys to confront the Turkish navy. In the end, 206 galleys and 6 galleys (large, heavily armed galleys) under the command of Juan de Austria, Luis de Requesens, Álvaro de Bazán, Gianandrea Doria, Agostino Barbarigo and Marcantonio Colonna were ordered. On 7 October 1571 they were confronted by just over 300 Turkish ships off the coast of Naupactos in the Gulf of Patras. The League’s superiority was due to its cannon (the Turks much preferred to sweep the decks with arrows) and the quality of the Spanish infantry on board. The battle was nothing more than a battle of infantry on ships: the League fought in three blocks: one along the coast, with Venetian galleys commanded by Agostino Barbarigo; one in the centre, commanded directly by John of Austria and Marcantonio Colonna; and one towards the open sea, under the command of Gianandrea Doria. The reserve was commanded by Álvaro de Bazán. In the central clash the Turkish admiralty ship, the Sultana, almost took the League’s admiral, the Royal, but the help of Marcantonio Colonna’s galleys reversed the situation and the Turkish admiralty was taken, annihilating all its crew, including Admiral Ali Paschá.By the end of the day the League had sunk 50 ships, taken about 140, taken 10,000 Turkish prisoners and freed the Turkish prisoners.despite the resounding victory (“the highest occasion that the past centuries have seen, the present nor the future centuries hope to see”, in the words of Miguel de Cervantes – who fought on the galley Marquesa – in the prologue to his Don Quixote) neither the League nor Spain nor Venice knew how to profit from it. Two years later the Turkish navy had completely recovered and Venice ceded Cyprus to the Ottoman Empire.

The post Plan of the order of battle of the armies at the Battle of Lepanto first appeared on History Lab.

Ships entering Barcelona carrying American cotton, 1781-1799 (in pounds)

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:57 +0000

The growth of Spanish trade through the American trade at the end of the 18th century played an important role in the beginnings of the Catalan cotton industry. Two of the main points on the peninsula were the main points for the entry and re-export of American goods: Barcelona and Cadiz, with the latter enclave assuming a predominant position between 1760 and 1770, as in 1790 the city of Cadiz took the lead until 1796. The year 1787 is considered a year of commercial and industrial paralysis as Catalonia experienced an economic crisis, which had an impact on cotton imports. However, the recovery and leadership in cotton imports reached its peak in 1793 when Barcelona received a total of 27 ships with American cotton, as well as in 1784 and 1791, years in which several large shipments were received. On the other hand, the right-hand column shows the number of Catalan ships involved in importing American cotton. In this sense, the Catalan shippers established an autonomous stake in the colonial trade.

The post Ships entering Barcelona carrying American cotton, 1781-1799 (in pounds) first appeared on History Lab.

Exports of raw cotton from Spain (in pounds)

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:57 +0000

The growth of Spanish trade through the American trade at the end of the 18th century played an important role in the beginnings of the Catalan cotton industry. Two of the main points on the peninsula were the main points of entry and re-export of American cotton: Barcelona and Cadiz, with the latter enclave assuming a predominant position between 1760 and 1770, as in 1790 the city of Cadiz took the lead until 1796. In that year, the development of the extent of the international trade in Spanish colonial cotton changed. The dimensions between 1792-1795 were captured in the trade balances of those years. This table shows how most of the cotton was destined for Great Britain, although France also held a significant share before the outbreak of war with Spain, in addition to the importance of Italy as a buyer, especially from 1796 onwards.

The post Exports of raw cotton from Spain (in pounds) first appeared on History Lab.

Origins of cotton imported into Spain, 1781-1796 (in pounds)

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:57 +0000

The growth of Spanish trade through the American trade at the end of the 18th century played an important role in the beginnings of the Catalan cotton industry. Two of the main peninsular points of entry and re-export of the American goods were Barcelona and Cadiz, with the latter enclave assuming a predominant position between 1760 and 1770, as in 1790 the city of Cadiz took the lead until 1796. The details of the ports of origin of the cotton delivered later are listed in the approvals of the free trade regulations. In this sense, the extension of the Hispanic Monarchy provided the possibility of taking advantage of the resources of two civilisations where cotton was one of the dominant textile fibres. In the American space, within the supply zone, there were some important variations in terms of suppliers. Havana enjoyed a brief hegemony until the mid-1780s. However, this region for which there is little evidence of cotton growth on the island served primarily as an entrepôt for trade, a role strengthened during the American War of Independence in the late 18th century. Cotton was imported from the viceroyalty of La Plata at this early stage. In contrast, Vera Cruz and Cartagena were also important suppliers and from 1790 the ports of Callao and Guayaquil in the Viceroyalty of Peru became regular suppliers. In 1796 a shift eastwards in supply was evident as new points emerged such as Maracaibo, Cumaná, Nueva Guayana and Trinidad.

The post Origins of cotton imported into Spain, 1781-1796 (in pounds) first appeared on History Lab.

Rise of Venice

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:22 +0000

Rise of Venice puts you in command of a fledgling trading empire based in Renaissance Venice, which must exercise its role as Europe’s cultural centre and most important trading post at the junction between Eastern Europe and the eastern fringe of the Mediterranean. From this point, it must trade with other cities such as Genoa, Tripoli, Rome, Alexandria and Constantinople. During the course of the game, various historical events will occur that will require exceptional measures to be taken to try to overcome them.
As for the fleet, maintaining the characteristics of the Renaissance era, the game starts with a few merchant ships available until it reaches the point of owning and dominating a whole fleet of its own. The product distribution system must also be taken into account, building new production facilities and establishing maritime supply routes between available ports. All this happens while trying to increase the fame and prestige of the protagonist family, while competing with other prominent historical families represented in the game.

The post Rise of Venice first appeared on History Lab.

Port Royale 2

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:22 +0000

Port Royale 2 is a naval trading video game set in the Caribbean Sea during the 17th century. Throughout more than 60 ports, the objective is to create your own production and distribution centres, expanding your commercial empire and influencing the development and growth of the New World.
Another of the characteristic elements of this game is the representation of the pirate problem in the Caribbean waters, with decisions being necessary between maximising profits or using some ships as escorts, at the cost of the losses that this movement must generate. Regarding the available fleet, Port Royale 2 has 16 ship types available, ranging from small merchant ships to large cargo vessels.

The post Port Royale 2 first appeared on History Lab.

Port Royale 3

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:22 +0000

In Port Royale 3 the mighty kingdoms of Spain, England, France and Holland struggle to dominate the colonies scattered throughout the Caribbean in the 17th century. It is against this backdrop that the player must make his place among the great historical personalities through his skills as a merchant or directly through military combat. The 60 port cities and 16 historical types of ships, such as galleons and frigates, remain in the game.
For the first time in the prolific Port Royale saga and as the most important novelty compared to its predecessors, the game has a multiplayer mode for 4 players in local network or via internet, allying or competing to found the most relevant trading company in the Caribbean. Moreover, through the complex trading system implemented in the game, it will be the actions taken that regulate the supply and demand of both the transport of goods and the manufactured craft industry itself, deciding the price of the different goods.

The post Port Royale 3 first appeared on History Lab.

Port Royale 4

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:22 +0000

Joining the colonial forces of Spain, France, England and the Netherlands, you must learn to manage a small settlement into a major trading city in the 16th and 17th century Caribbean. New in this fourth instalment of the franchise is the increased management and trade between the different islands, mediating large trade routes to meet the growing needs of each city. This time, everything is represented in a unique scenario in which everything takes place in real time, dispensing with the typical rooms typical of this saga. In addition, turn-based strategy also makes its debut in the saga, as this is how the naval battles take place and opens the door to a new military strategy.
Also new this time is the chronological expansion backwards in time, not only focusing on the 17th century, as there are four campaigns -one for each of the previously mentioned colonial powers-, each one is developed at the time when each of them dominated the Caribbean. Another substantial change is that introduced in urbanism and city planning, since poor management – locating housing adjacent to industry – or poor planning of basic services can lead to major problems such as plagues, social unrest and even mass emigration, which has a direct impact on the productivity and performance of the controlled nation.

The post Port Royale 4 first appeared on History Lab.

Patrician IV

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:22 +0000

Patrician IV puts the player in the role of a Northern European merchant in the late Middle Ages, living through the splendour of the Hanseatic League as it moves into the Modern Age. The main objective is to become the most prosperous merchant and leader of the trading league, and to this end, maintaining good diplomatic relations with the nobles of the various counties represented on the game map is of great importance.
The game starts by trading with common goods manufactured by the player himself and distributed using a small merchant fleet. From here the goal is to grow at a faster rate than other ports and historical families, using contrasting strategies such as price wars between supply and demand. All of this takes place while dealing with disease, famine and enemy sieges placed with a notable historical basis.

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