Nanban Trade Ship (TWS2 Unit)

Nanban Trade Ship (TWS2 Unit)
Class	Galleon
Recruitment Cost	1500
Upkeep Cost	250
Requires	Buildings: Nanban Quarter
Marines	100
Seamen	200
Gunners	20
Accuracy	40
Reloading Skill	40
Hull Strength	400
Morale	13

Description

This European merchant ship is armed with powerful cannons as defence against pirate raids.

European or ‘nanban’ traders are the main source for cannons and matchlock firearms, along with other valuable goods, such as silk from China. Their cargo also makes them a prime target for the notorious wako pirates who haunt the Japanese coastline. For protection, trade ships are fitted with powerful European cannons, giving them some of the capabilities of a warship. If a daimyo can afford it, and is willing to trust barbarous, uncouth Europeans, he can hire these ships for his fleet, but at a very high cost. A typical “nanban” ship was the caravel, a European design with two masts and lateen-rigged sails.

Nanban means “southern barbarian”, the term used for the European merchants who traded with Japan from the 1540s onwards. Japan had little contact with outsiders, and Europeans were considered coarse and crude when measured against traditional Japanese etiquette. The nanban trade brought European weapons and goods from China, but suspicion of European motives and the influx of Christian missionaries eventually resulted in the policy of “sakoku”. In 1633 Japan became a ”locked country” and foreigners were banned from entry.

Strengths & Weaknesses

• Powerful European ships armed with many large cannons.
• Vulnerable to being swarmed by many Japanese ships.

Other Information

Although expensive to recruit, The Nanban Trade Ship is extremely devastating in Naval Combat. It has a massive crew complement and the devastating firepower of its European Cannons and Matchlocks. They are so effective at destroying other ships that it is not unheard of for a lone Nanban Trade Ship to single-handedly defeat a full stack fleet of Japanese Ships. Larger Japanese Ships are actually more vulnerable because they are too slow to reach the Nanban Trade Ship, the Nihon Maru, is simply a sitting duck that can be shot at until it sinks.

The only ships that even have a chance of countering the Nanban Trade Ship are Cannon Bunes or another Nanban Trade Ship, or the Black Ship. A large number of Bow Koboyas or Fire Bomb Koboyas can also be a threat, if they move correctly and attack all at once they can set fire to a Nanban Trade Ship. For this reason these small ships should usually be the first target of the Nanban Cannons.

The Nanban Trade Ship can only be recruited by Christian Clans. Gaining access to this ship can be a good reason to convert to Christianity. It also has far superior movement to Japanese ships.

The Mori Nanban Trade ship has +1 morale and is 20% cheaper.