I mean, it is better to lose cargo than risk to lose ship, which usually cost more than cargo and can be used to compensate for losses on subsequent voyages.
Not to mention that neither the crew nor the captain wanted to risk being killed for a few tons of cotton or tobacco. This is also true today, as sailors are required by their job description not to resist if their ship is captured by pirates, as the insurance company will compensate for the losses, but the dead will never be brought back. This is one of the reasons why Somali pirates once captured merchant ships with a few rusty boats and RPGs.
jkidd08 on
Some of my favorite plot points in the Master and Commander series was all the politicking around the prize agencies declaring things valid or not.
3 Comments
That wrong!
That guy wouldnt know how to read
I mean, it is better to lose cargo than risk to lose ship, which usually cost more than cargo and can be used to compensate for losses on subsequent voyages.
Not to mention that neither the crew nor the captain wanted to risk being killed for a few tons of cotton or tobacco. This is also true today, as sailors are required by their job description not to resist if their ship is captured by pirates, as the insurance company will compensate for the losses, but the dead will never be brought back. This is one of the reasons why Somali pirates once captured merchant ships with a few rusty boats and RPGs.
Some of my favorite plot points in the Master and Commander series was all the politicking around the prize agencies declaring things valid or not.