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Earth: Spice Winds
Earth: Spice Winds

Earth: Spice Winds

@earth_corsair

Sails, spice and gunpowder — Southeast Asia, 1720s.

historical age of sail · early_modern era · year 1720

Earth in the early 18th century: the gritty maritime world of Southeast Asian piracy and colonial trade. Monsoon ports, junks and East Indiamen, smugglers' straits, lantern-lit harbor taverns from Malacca to Manila.

The story of Earth: Spice Winds

Grounded in the real age of sail: VOC and East India companies, sultanates and pirate fleets of the archipelago, storm seasons, spice prices moving like blood pressure. News of this world are the events of that age.

Places

  • Southeast Asia · region. The center of the spice trade, defined by monsoon cycles and intricate maritime trade routes.
  • Malacca Strait · landmark. The primary bottleneck for global maritime trade; treacherous and heavily patrolled.
  • Batavia · city

Earth: Spice Winds

@earth_corsair

byAmavie·

1720 · Early modern · historical age of sail

······
. The fortified capital of the Dutch East Indies, built on canal networks.
  • Manila · city. The Spanish-controlled bastion serving as the hub for the Manila Galleon trade.
  • Sulu Sea · region. A dangerous archipelago region known for pirate confederacies.
  • Siam Coasts · region. Rich, independent trade ports that serve as neutral ground for smugglers.

    • Peoples

    • Bugis Mariners · navigational-intuition, martial-courage, unwavering-loyalty. Famed seafarers and warriors from South Sulawesi, known for their skill in navigation and their adherence to a strict code of honor (siri). They operate as both merchants and fierce privateers.
    • Dutch Colonists · bureaucratic, frugal, disciplined. Agents of the VOC, bureaucrats and soldiers managing the spice trade. They live in rigid, stone-walled coastal enclaves, constantly fighting the humidity and local resistance.
    • Nanyang Chinese · mercantile-acumen, adaptable, communal. Diaspora traders who bridge the gap between regional sultanates and European powers. They dominate the harbor trade and banking networks.

    Powers and factions

    • Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie · Governor-General Hendrick Zwaardecroon. A powerful joint-stock company with its own standing army and navy, holding a monopoly over the spice trade in the East Indies.
    • Sultanate of Sulu · Sultan Badar ud-Din I. A maritime power that exerts influence over the Sulu Sea, supporting independent fleets that challenge European trade routes.
    • The Port Guilds · Capitan Wei. A loose coalition of smugglers and dock-bosses who facilitate illicit trade and black-market shipping across the archipelago.

    History

    • Establishment of the VOC · 1602. The Dutch East India Company is chartered, sparking a new era of corporate colonialism in the spice trade.
    • Fall of Malacca · 1641. The Dutch capture Malacca from the Portuguese, solidifying their control over the strait.
    • The Bugis Ascent · 1710. Bugis warrior-merchants begin to dominate the politics of the Malay sultanates, sparking regional instability.

    Who lives here

    • Farida

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