Printout 10/17/2008

 

Rum, s*d*my & the lash

Scenario one: Mauritius command 1809

All player briefing

 

INTRODUCTION

         

Welcome to 1809, where Napoleon and Tsar Alexander rule the roost in Europe, and French privateers play fast and loose with Britain’s Indian Ocean trade. Glory and a fortune in prize money awaits those of you who can cut it as a seadog. For the rest, a short trip to Davy Jones’s locker!

 

GEOGRAPHY - INDIA

 

Half of India is run from Delhi by the Governor General of the Honourable East India Company. The company's main trade is in cotton and opium (exported from Bombay), tea and silk from China, indigo dye from

Madras, saltpetre and opium from Calcutta. Rice is also exported, a lot of it from Calcutta. The company runs its own private army, some tens of thousands strong, and “Bombay Marine” of around one hundred ships of various sizes.

 

As at 1808, the British hold the Ganges valley up to the Punjab, the whole east coast, and the Malabar (southern third of the west) coast of India, plus the isolated and Mahratta – threatened harbour island of Bombay. The western or Malabar coast includes the small ports of Cochin and Calicut and the Portuguese enclaves of Diu and Goa.

 

The British also hold Ceylon, and Penang and Malacca in Malaya, but not Burma, or Singapore, which is not yet founded. Batavia [a notoriously diseased place] and Gressik/Surabaya on Java are Dutch. Goa and Diu on the west coast of India are Portuguese, as is Timor in Indonesia, while Tranquebar, towards the south of the Coromandel (east) coast of India, is Danish, and they are allied to the French. There is no real port there, though; only an open roadstead.

 

The only real dockyard in India is in Bombay, which can build ships up to 64 gun size. Bombay exports cotton and imports rice. There is a good harbour at Trincomalee in Ceylon, presently in British hands, but provisions and timber are scarce in the hinterland there. The recent war in Ceylon with the inland kingdom of Kandy – in which 1000 British troops were slain - has died down by 1809. There are minor anchorages at Galle / Colombo on the west coast of Ceylon, often used as convoy collection points. Other minor anchorages in the Bay of Bengal area include Negapatam and Coringa (near Kanikade) on the Coromandel coast, both accessed over shallow sandbars, plus Mergui in Burma, Penang and Malacca in Malaya, and Achin (a Moslem port) and Bencooleen (British) in Sumatra.

 

Ships anchored in the roads off Madras or Tranquebar must load cargo over the beach in lighters called “masoolahs”. Large ships must offload cargo onto smaller ones at the “Sandheads” to get it up the Hooghly river to Calcutta. Ships can often be repaired in the Hooghly river but the marshes surrounding it are a source of deadly fevers, as at Batavia.

 

 

 

GEOGRAPHY - THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE & MADAGASCAR

 

The British acquired the Cape Province from the Dutch for the second time in 1806, at the battle of Blauenberg. There are elementary repair facilities in Simonstown, in False Bay to the east of the Cape, which offers safe anchorage from May to October, but is almost totally cut off from Table Bay by the mountains of the peninsula. Table Bay is prone to be being stormwracked, though some protection is given by

Robben island at its exit. Both of the Capes bays can be difficult to exit in adverse winds.

 

In winter, which lasts from May to September, large cold fronts come across from the Atlantic Ocean with heavy precipitation and strong north-westerly winds. Summer, which lasts from November to March, is warm and dry. The Peninsula gets frequent strong winds from the south-east, known locally as the Cape Doctor, because it blows away pollution and cleans the air. FB out of season, and Table Bay most of the time, are treacherous anchorages, since the Cape Peninsula can attract storms at all times of the year (the French Admiral Linois lost two ships out of four here in 1805). In addition both bays here (and in the Mascarenes and Red Sea) are very difficult to exit in adverse wind conditons; it is necessary sometimes to resort to ‘warping’ ships out, by sinking anchors and winding in the attached lines with the capstan. Table Bay is protected to some extent by Robben island which lies across its mouth.

 

There are only primitive settlements in Madagascar, including Fort Dauphin (present dayTaolagnaro) on the south coast (French) and the ruined C17 English fort and harbour at St Augustine on the SW coast. There are some pirate settlements on the north coast, near the Comoros islands. On the

Mozambique mainland is Lagoa Bay with a small Portuguese settlement.

 

 

 

GEOGRAPHY - THE MASCARENE ISLANDS

 

The island of Rodrigues is 560 km east of Mauritius, which in turn lies 3000 miles from the Cape. Rodrigues measures 18 km x 8 km, 108 sq km inside a 220 sq km lagoon. The island is of volcanic origin and its highest point is Mount Limon, at 1600 ft.

 

About 120 miles separate Mauritius and Bourbon. All three Mascarene islands [Rodrigues + IDF = Mauritius + Bourbon = Reunion] have water, wood, fruit and vegetables. No other IO island save Ceylon and the

Dutch islands have wood or vegetables in any quantity. Mauritius and Bourbon have rice too, but the island of Mauritius cannot feed its own population [inflated by slave labourers] without imports. Bourbon accordingly exports corn and cattle to IDF/Mauritius. 

 

The Mascarenes are the only French base in the Indian Ocean and in consequence Napoleon is said to have heavily garrisoned them with up to 10,000 troops including cavalry and field artillery, and many land based naval cannon guarding the anchorages. There is a very good risks of cyclones here from November to March

 

GEOGRAPHY - WIND, WEATHER & CURRENTS – SEE MAPS.

 

ARABIAN GULF, BAY OF BENGAL & CHINA SEAS

 

North of a line running through Zanzibar, the Seychelles and the northern tip of Java, shipping in the Indian Ocean and China Seas is largely regulated by a monsoon “trade wind” system. [the result of high winter and low summer pressures respectively over the Asian mainland]. The trade winds are strong enough for example to prevent ANY egress or entry into the Red Sea for square rigged ships during the relevant season. Strong north-east winds and currents prevail from October until May. From about 15^th May until about 10^th October strong south and west winds and currents prevail. The winds are marked on the briefing maps.

 

SOUTHERN INDIAN OCEAN

 

South of the abovementioned line, winds are much lighter, but tend to blow from the east from about 15th May until about 10th October, and from the west and south for the remainder of the year. There is a mild counterclockwise gyre (broad, circular system of currents) in the southern Indian Ocean all year round.

 

CYCLONES occur at the changing of the monsoon, during May/June and October/November in the northern Indian Ocean The hurricanes can affect coastal installations, too. They are particularly fierce around the Mascarene islands, and can commence here in November and last through to March. Historically, an entire convoy of five Indiamen were stormwrecked near the Mascarenes in November 1809.

 

Throughout the oceans, there are prone to be TIDAL RACES and WHIRLPOOLS wherever water is funnelled through narrow openings, such as the Mozambique Channel and the various Indonesian straits. Note also that the Palk Strait between India and Ceylon is characterised by islands reefs and sandbars, and not for faint hearted captains; ships sail round Point de Galle and the Bass rocks off the south of Ceylon. The Sunda Strait tends also toward the treacherous.

 

SAILING TIMES

 

Very long. By way of example, England to the Cape takes about two months for faster vessels, even with the winds. Canton to St Helena takes two months likewise. The voyage from India to England, or vice versa, habitually takes three or four months, ships waiting for the trade winds to make the return journey. China to England can take up to six months, with China ships consequently making only one return voyage per year. If a message is sent by sea, no reply should be expected within the year. A message sent from Bengal overland to England will take several months and must pass through Persia, which is under French influence.

 

POLITICAL SITUATION - EUROPE

 

Many SPANISH ships were destroyed off Cape St Vincent and at Trafalgar in 1805, when the back of the then allied fleet was broken by Lord Nelson. The latest news of Spain, some months old, is that the northeast was controlled by Joseph Bonaparte in consequence of the French invasion of 1808. Spanish King Charles IV held out in Cadiz and was conducting a guerilla war against the invoders, while Sir John Moore was marching on Madrid from his base in Portugal.

The King of PORTUGAL is resident in Brasil, and has co-operated with England ever since Marshal Junot briefly occupied Lisbon in December 1807, only to be ejected the next year by Lord Wellington. The Portuguese run their own Indiamen to Goa,

and have some lethargic colonials on the Mozambique coast, who suffer from the attentions of the nearby COMOROS PIRATES

HOLLAND is ruled by Louis Bonaparte and theoretically an ally of the French. It retains a number of ships on the high seas, some of the line, and mostly around the East Indies. Many Dutch ships were however captured or destroyed at the Battle of Camperdown in 1797. French ships have in the recent past resupplied at Dutch Batavia on Java, but the mad Louis Bonaparte does not get on with his brother, and the Dutch have proven to be very relucant and inactive allies to date.

Although the substantial DANO-NORWEGIAN war fleet was battered by Nelson in 1801 and the remainder seized in September 1807, there are a number of DANO-NORWEGIAN, and a few SWEDISH, merchant ships on the high seas. DENMARK remains allied to France, and carries on a naval guerrilla war against Britain with small gunboats. SWEDEN is allied to Great Britain, and both are at war with RUSSIA as well as France. Denmark owns the small port of Tranquebar south of Madras, with its open roadstead.

PRUSSIA and the GERMAN PORTS such as HAMBURG, BREMEN, and LUBECK are presently [enforced] allies of the French, but may run the odd merchant ship to the Eastern seas.

 

POLITICAL SITUATION - THE EAST

 

Since the outbreak of war with France in 1792, the Brits have been steadily cleaning up enemy colonies all around the globe. In addition to the territories of the Honourable East India Company in India, the British now have Indian Ocean bases at the Cape of Good Hope, Trincomalee in Ceylon, Malacca and Penang in Malaya, Bencooleen in Sumatra, Amboyna and Banda in the Moluccas, and Aden on the Arabian Gulf / Red Sea.

 

Recent British victories were achieved over the King of Kandy in Ceylon, and in the fourth Mysore War in south-central India. Although the Mahrattas of central India were marginally beaten at Assaye in 1803, they have beaten small British armies in the past and continue to intrigue against the British with the French and others. Their leader Holkar is at Hyderabad, and their territory lies close to Bombay and Goa. They are strong in cavalry.

 

There was a sepoy mutiny at Vellore, about 75 miles west of Madras, in 1806, which was only narrowly put down by the East India Company’s European troops, many of whom are Irish Catholics who took service across the world following their rout at Vinegar Hill in 1798. The Honourable East India Company is rumoured to make a loss, and consequently their troops, including the officers, are not well paid or accommodated, suffer badly from disease, and are now themselves said to be discontented.

 

Both Europe and India run a valuable trade in tea, cotton, silk, opium and other commodities with Canton [and Portuguese Macao] in China, the ships normally sailing with the trade winds. Convoys invariably leave Canton towards the end of January, the timing being dictated by the tea harvest as well as the monsoons. One convoy, of the Bombay Marine “country ships”, sails to Calcutta, while the other, of company “Indiamen”, goes right through to England via the Cape of Good Hope. The returning ships tend to arrive at the Cape of Good Hope and Ceylon during the Summer, from whence they are convoyed [or not] to China.

 

There is also a valuable local trade in the Bay of Bengal and around the coast of India between the various ports; eg. rice is taken from Calcutta to Madras and Bombay. The first ship of the year arriving in a particular port can attain much higher prices. It is known that many merchants dislike convoys since these result in a surplus of goods being landed at the destination simultaneously, which depresses the prices they can obtain for them. Partly for this reason, the French in the Mascarenes have taken a very rich harvest of unconvoyed merchant shipping, especially in the Ba y of Bengal, since war broke out with Britain in 1792.

 

It might be expected that the Spanish squadron at Manila would be active on the British side, since their homeland is under the boot of the French, but in fact it is lately reported as inactive. The Philippine colony is traditionally dependent for its viability on an annual silver galleon sailing with the trade wind from Acapulco in Mexico. Similarily, the French have used the extensive base facilities at Dutch Batavia and Gressie,  and the

small Dutch port and fort at Ternate in the Moluccas, but the Dutch Indies squadron itself has not been in evidence on the seas for some time.

 

Bonaparte, despite his defeat in Egypt and Palestine, is said by Arab sources still to have influence in Persia, and to be intriguing for a joint Franco- Persian invasion of India, supported by the Mahratta Holkar and the naval squadron from the Mascarenes.

 

Robert Surcouf is famed throughout the Indian Ocean as a French corsair who has custom built and sails one of the first and fastest copper bottomed ships, the frigate Revenant. A Second French corsair, Pierre Bouvet, is almost equally notorious.

 

POLITICAL SITUATION - THE AMERICAS

 

Most French colonies have already fallen to the British. The only real remaining French colony outside the Mascarenes is the valuable sugar producing island of Martinique in the Caribbean, which was returned to French rule at the peace of 1803.

 

The invasion of Spain in 1808 has given impetus to the already existing independence movements in its American colonies to the extent that many of them now contain rebel secessionist armies.

 

There are on the high seas a goodly number of AMERICAN merchant ships, which trade with both sides. American ships and crews are of a high standard. Most cargoes to and from the Mascarenes are transported in US ships, and this is believed to include some contraband. The USA has complained vigorously about the British searching their ships and pressing their men, and has threatened to intervene on the French side. British captains are thought to be under instructions to treat US ships tactfully, even though some are suspected to tip off the French as to the whereabouts of potential prizes, which they can later pick up at discount prices in IDF.

 

LAW & CUSTOM OF WAR

 

Some international law had been established at this time, but there were many grey areas and even the British do not universally respect the law. Normally however, once one has declared and enforced an EFFECTIVE blockade of an enemy port, it is OK to search Neutral ships for Contraband, which means anything destined for enemy combatants. PROVISIONS FOR CIVILIANS ARE NOT CONTRABAND. Contraband may be seized, but not the neutral ships which carry it. However neutral ships entering or leaving may be detained for as long as the blockade lasts – they must then be released.

 

Although the British blockade French-controlled ports both in Europe and elsewhere, their navy is thinly stretched and it has proved easy for individual fast sailing vessels, both French and neutral, to escape onto the high seas. The Royal Navy has not always adhered strictly to international law, and there is pressure in Parliament for them to be more robust in their prosecution of the war, despite the regular protests from neutral diplomats. However this carries the danger of war, notably with the efficient navy of the USA.

 

Those participating in the capture of an enemy ship expect prize money, varying according to rank, for their endeavours. The prizes are sold through agents at the ports. Captains get a quarter share, the Admiral and the able seamen an eighth share each, and the rest goes to the officers. A sailor’s annual wage was about £10 and they were often not paid at all – for fifteen years in one case. They could expect however to take sometimes 15 times as much in prize money for a valuable haul.

 

It is considered an honourable ruse of war to fly an enemy or neutral colour prior to battle, but NOT to open fire while still under that colour. Ships which have struck all their colours in surrender may not be fired upon, but may be boarded peacefully. Note that the odd fanatical captain nails his colours to the mast, so that they cannot be struck! It is considered dishonourable, and potentially a capital war crime, to incite rebellion amongst the enemy’s populace, especially slaves. 

 

There is also an unwritten seamans code whereby European sailors at least are respected as combatants and treated chivalrously in defeat. Seamen prisoners are normally exchanged for their enemy counterparts in “cartel” ships under a flag of truce. Officers are customarily released unconditionally and in short order, though occasional unfortunates [eg. Matthew Flinders on Mauritius] can be detained for years, albeit in good conditions of house arrest.

 

SHIP CAPABILITIES

 

Often, the smaller and lighter the ship, the faster it will sail. However frigates and corvettes are fast for their size. Copper sheathing on hulls maximizes speed by preventing barnacle encrustation, but is expensive and by no means universal in 1809. Ships may beat up to 45 degrees into the wind; lateen rigs a little more. Ships are at their fastest with the wind about five degrees astern, since all sails then feel the wind. Ships may be brought to their absolute maximum speed by pressing on “studding sails [studsails]” and “royals”, but this puts them at the mercy of sudden squalls, which may destroy masts and rigging.

 

SHIPS OF THE LINE [SOL]

First rate SOL cost £100,000 at 1809 prices [£1 million in 2008 prices]; up to 200’ long with 3 or 4 gundecks. Up to 120 guns of up to 42lb. Up to 1100 crew.

Second rate SOL: 180’; 3 decks with up to 98 cannon & up to 840 crew.

Third rate SOL [the most frequent type]: 160’, 2 or 3 decks with up to 80 guns and 840 crew.

Fourth rate SOL: cost £25,000; 145’, 2 decks with up to 60 guns and 650 men.

 

“BELOW THE LINE [OF BATTLE]”.

Fifth rater = Frigate; 125’ long, a single gundeck with 32-48 guns and 220 – 330 men.

Sixth rater = “Ship Sloops” [=Corvettes]; 115’, single deck with three masts and up to 28 cannon and 250 men.

Unrated = Brig sloops, carrying about 18 guns, two masted and very manouevrable. Also “gunboats”, mortar ketches [“bomb ships”], packets, snoo-brigs, schooners and others. These names often refer to kinds of rig rather than the size of the vessel.

 

INDIAMEN

Indiamen vary a little in size but are mostly about 160’ long and resemble third raters to the extent that it can be very difficult to distinguish them from the men of war – a fact which is often exploited as a ploy. In trading mode they carry 18 – 20 guns but could in theory carry up to 80. There were isolated examples of them defeating French frigates even with 18 guns. Used as transports they can take about 300 troops comfortably, 500 in extremis. However ship handling by the crew becomes much more difficult with troops clogging the decks. The value of an Indiaman’s cargo might approach or exceed that of a Spanish galleon, which could be £80,000; one Indiaman convoy carried £500,000 of silk.

 

GUNNERY

Depending upon whether guns are LONG or SHORT [assume short unless a bow or stern chaser or otherwise stated], and also very much upon what ammo is loaded, maximum range is 800 yards BUT EFFECTIVE RANGE IS MUCH LESS. Gunners had to cope with the roll of the ship when aiming, too. Two and three deckers normally have the heavier guns on the lower decks, to aid stability. SOLs had normally 32 or 36 lb guns on the lower gundeck, 18 or 24lb in the middle deck, & 12 or 18 lb on top, with 6 – 9 lbers as secondary armament. In choppy seas, lower gunports could be opened only at the risk of flooding. Ships would also carry up to about 8 “carronades” [mortars] on the decks, whose purpose was to drop bombs vertically onto the decks of a ship, a port, or a land battery. Guns can be short or long barreled – the bowchasers being invariably long so as to get the range needed to destroy a victim’s sails during a chase. Many FRENCH FRIGATES outgun the British with their 18 pounders against the British 12 pounders. Guns can be loaded with roundshot, double roundshot for close quarters (dangerous, can misfire), grapeshot (6-8 small roundshot sewn into a sack), chain- or bar-shot for masts and rigging, or canister for personnel. Brit guns use gunpowder which is better than the French by a factor of 6:5 due to the high quality of Bengal saltpeter used in its manufacture. Powder magazines are located below the waterline, perhaps on the Orlop deck, and served by relays of “powder monkeys”, who can be children or women!

 

NAVAL PERSONNEL

 

In the Royal Navy, commissioned officers would get half pay when 'without squadron'.  The lowest rank of Officer was the Midshipman. They were non-commissioned Officers and therefore wouldn't get half pay. The Midshipman might progress through Ensign and could be commissioned as Lieutenant after successful passing of an examination. The earlier the commission the more seniority.  Thus someone could be 1st Lieutenant on ship A, but if called to a more important ship, he could start all over again as 5th Lieutenant on ship B. Captain was not a an actual rank. A Lieutenant could be called to be employed as Captain. After three years of junior captaincy, one might be made Post Captain [ones commission was ‘posted’ in the Admiralty lists]. A Commodore was not an actual rank, merely a temporary commission over several ships. A post captain could be made a Rear Admiral of the Blue. Promotion from then on was to Rear Admiral of the White, then Rear Admiral of the Red. Thenceforth would come: Vice Admiral of the Blue, of the White, of the Red. Next step would be: Admiral of the Blue, of the White, of the Red. The last and highest rank would be Admiral of the Fleet. Even Nelson wasn't one (he would have 'automatically' become one at the age of 90 of thereabouts). For the purposes of the game, the Bombay Marine and the French Navy are assumed to operate rank systems identical to this. Note that French crews are more mixed than British, employing many local “Lascar” , “Caffri”, Malay, Chinese, Creole and Irish sailors, and in the recent past French ships have surrendered more readily. Often such prisoners are hired by the victors [and sometimes some are used to crew their own ships as prizes, if there is a shortage of able hands!]

 

SIGNALS

The following constitute the only standard signals for the flagmast. Should visibility permit, additional ship to ship communication may be made by flag semaphore. The operator will of course require the precise words he is to signal.

 

Steer 180 degrees to port

Steer 90 degrees to port

Steer 180 degrees to starboard

Steer 90 degrees to starboard

Break off the action

Break into the enemy line

Scatter

Strike all colours

Form in two divisions of line ahead

Follow the [divisional] flag

Engage more closely

Board the enemy

Act independently

Merchants to scatter

ANNUAL CALENDAR

January

CYCLONE RISK NEAR MASCARENES

CONVOYS FROM CHINA ETC MAY COMMENCE TO ASSEMBLE

February

CYCLONE RISK NEAR MASCARENES

May

CHANGE OF MONSOON – SIMONS BAY NOW A SAFE ANCHORAGE

July

CHINA CONVOYS FROM INDIAN OCEAN MAY COMMENCE TO ASSEMBLE

August

CHINA CONVOYS FROM INDIAN OCEAN MAY COMMENCE TO ASSEMBLE

September

CHINA CONVOYS FROM INDIAN OCEAN MAY COMMENCE TO ASSEMBLE

November

CHANGE OF MONSOON - SIMONS BAY CEASES TO BE A SAFE ANCHORAGE

CYCLONE RISK NEAR MASCARENES

December

CYCLONE RISK NEAR MASCARENES

CONVOYS FROM CHINA ETC MAY COMMENCE TO ASSEMBLE

Variable year on year

THE HAJJ

THE MANILA GALLEONS (from Acapulco in Mexico)

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE SAIL NAVY/ MARINE DE VOILES AND THE EASTERN SEAS

C Northcote Parkinson War in the Eastern Seas [1958]

Patrick O’Brian “Mauritius Command”

Wilson [transl] [the memoirs of] Seaman Garneray – Argyll Publishing, Scotland [an invaluable account from the French side – Ambroise Louis Garneray 1783- 1857 was a fascinating French corsair, painter and writer. He served in the Indian Ocean under Robert Surcouf and Jean-Marie Dutertre, became a franc millionaire from an India prize at age 17, but remained at sea to be taken and held prisoner by the British for eight years on a hulk in Portsmouth!

Stephen Taylor “Storm and Conquest”

N.A.M. Rodgers “Command of the Oceans”

Alfred Mahan “The influence of sea power on history” [C19]

Featherstone – Naval War Games [out of print]

 

COMPUTER GAMES:

Imperial Glory, Patrician III; naval game in the Total War series coming soon.

ANNEX: CARGO VALUES BOUGHT OR SOLD AT ENTREPOT [FOR GAME PURPOSES ONLY]

	China	East Indies	Cal-cutta	Madras & Ceylon	Bombay	Mascar-enes	Cape & St Helena	Europe
Opium	28	14	7	14	7	14	14	100
Silk	7	14	14	14	14	21	21	50
Spices	10	5	10	5	10	10	15	20
Naval stores	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	2
Indigo	3	3	3	3	2	3	3	20
Rice	2	2	1	2	3	4	4	5
Cotton	3	2	2	2	1	4	4	20
Arrack	2	1	2	1	2	3	4	NIL
Manufactures	25	20	15	15	15	15	10	5
Krug	25	20	15	15	15	15	12	8
Tea	3	5	7	7	7	10	12	20
Baccy	7	6	5	5	5	5	3`	12
Salt-petre	6	5	3	5	5	7	10	25
Biscuit	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	3
Cattle	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3
Corn	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1