(note-) here is the link for the new BARBARY STATES SIG!!!
http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/2...rbarsigwp0.jpg
Alternate version
http://img159.imageshack.us/img159/8125/citybq0.png
Big thanks goes out to Atterdag for making the sigs!!!
sources-
1-freshmen high school history book
2-good ol wikipedia
3-numerous editions of the 2004 encyclopedia of Britannia
4-numerous collective sailing and piracy books
(note-) for the ships section it may not be high quality picks but I did do my best
Ok, my idea for a faction is simple- the Barbary states- here is a little history lesson.
Although piracy had existed in the region throughout the decline of the Roman Empire, the barbarian invasions, the Golden Age of Piracy and the Middle Ages, piracy became particularly flagrant in the 14th century when the local Berber dynasties were in decadence. The town of Bougie was then the most notorious pirate base.
The organized powers which became known as the Barbary pirates arose in the 16th century, became most powerful in the 17th, declined gradually throughout the 18th and were extinguished about 1830, when the French conquered Algiers.
Several events influenced the growth of the pirates. The conquest of Granada by the Catholic sovereigns of Spain in 1492 drove many Moors into exile. They revenged themselves by piratical attacks on the Spanish coast. They had the help of Muslim adventurers from the Levant, of whom the most successful were Hızır and Oruç, natives of Mitylene. Spain in self-defense began to conquer the coast towns of Oran, Algiers and Tunis. Oruç having fallen in battle with the Spaniards in 1518, his brother Hızır appealed to Selim I, the Ottoman Sultan, who sent his troops. He drove the Spaniards in 1529 from the rocky island in front of Algiers, where they had a fort, and was the founder of the Ottoman power. From about 1518 till the death of Uluch Ali in 1587 Algiers was the main seat of government of the beylerbeys of northern Africa, who ruled over Tripoli, Tunisia and Algeria. From 1587 till 1659, they were ruled by Ottoman pashas, sent from Constantinople to govern for three years; but in the latter year a military revolt in Algiers reduced the pashas to nonentities. From 1659 onwards, these African cities, although nominally forming part of the Ottoman empire, were in fact anarchical military republics which chose their own rulers and lived by plunder.
During the first period (1518-1587) the beylerbeys were admirals of the sultan, commanding great fleets and conducting serious operations of war for political ends. They were slave-hunters and their methods were ferocious. After 1587, plunder became the sole object of their successors—plunder of the native tribes on land and of all who went upon the sea. The maritime side of this long-lived brigandage was conducted by the captains, or reises, who formed a class or even a corporation. Cruisers were fitted out by capitalists and commanded by the reises. Ten percent of the value of the prizes was paid to the treasury of the pasha or his successors, who bore the titles of agha or dey or bey.
The first half of the 17th century may be described as the flowering time of the Barbary pirates. More than 20,000 captives were said to be imprisoned in Algiers alone. The rich were allowed to redeem themselves, but the poor were condemned to slavery. Their masters would on occasion allow them to secure freedom by professing Islam. A long list might be given of people of good social position, not only Italians or Spaniards, but German or English travellers in the south, who were captives for a time.[4]
In Iceland Murat Reis (Jan Janszoon) is said to have taken 400 prisoners, later raided the nearby island of Vestmannaeyjar. Among those captured in Vestmannaeyjar was Ólafur Egilsson, who was released with a ransom the next year and, upon returning back to Iceland, wrote a detailed book in 1628 about his experience. The sack of Vestmannaeyjar is known in The History of Iceland as Tyrkjaránið (The Turkish abductions) and is arguably the most horrible event in the history of Vestmannaeyjar. In June 1631 Murat Reis, with pirates from Algiers and armed troops of the Ottoman Empire, stormed ashore at the little harbour village of Baltimore, County Cork. They captured almost all the villagers and bore them away to a life of slavery in North Africa.[4] The prisoners were destined for a variety of fates -- some would live out their days chained to the oars as galley slaves, while others would spend long years in the scented seclusion of the harem or within the walls of the Sultan's palace. The old city of Algiers, with its narrow streets, intense heat and lively trade, was a melting pot where the villagers would join slaves and freemen of many nationalities. Only two of them ever saw Ireland again. A detailed account of the Sack of Baltimore, County Cork can be found in the book, The Stolen Village Baltimore and the Barbary Pirates by Des Ekin.
Although Barbary pirate attacks were more common in south and east Spain, the Balearic Islands, Sardinia, Corsica, Elba, the Italian Peninsula (especially the coasts of Liguria, Toscana, Lazio, Campania, Calabria and Puglia), Sicily and Malta, they also attacked the Atlantic northwest coast of the Iberian Peninsula. In 1617, the African corsairs launched their major attack in the region when they destroyed and sacked Bouzas, Cangas and the churches of Moaña and Darbo.
^^The above are directly from Wikipedia^^
With all of this activity the Barbary states had, and the dicussion of slave trading in ETW I think this faction has a good possibility of making it in with other factions such as Poland and Austria.
Barbary pirates used fast light ships and rarely used heavy ships like european powers but relied on small calibur accurate firepower cannons to disable ships and then get close enough to raid them, who knows we may be able to ransom off crews we capture in battle like those soldiers we capture in battle? In addition we could also somehow possibly take advantage of the Triangular Trade.
Ship Specifics-------------
Beginnings
The xebec, as in most ship types, possesses origins difficult to trace. It probably began with the Mediterranean Galley, the type used by Italian city-states, Barbary Corsairs, and other Muslim empires since the middle ages. These ships had long, narrow hulls with a bank of oars. They were meant to be fast and manoueverable under oarpower. These ships also carried two or three lateen-rigged masts.
The foremast of the xebec was traditionally raked (bent) forward while the main was straight. There were no topmasts. The immense lateen yards were actually two spars lashed together at the thicker ends to form one. The hull had considerable overhang at the bow and stern. A ram was located at the bow, much above the waterline to form a prow. There was usually no bowsprit.
Although both galleys and xebecs were warships, some of the features of a xebec are also found in the Felucca, the Pink and the Polacre.
The Felucca is closer to the xebec than the galley. It was a smaller version of a galley, but still lateen rigged. In no way was a xebec ever bigger than a galley, so the felucca is a more likely anscestor.
The Pink and the Polacre are more likely derivatives of the xebec. The pink carried a similar rig, while retaining the rake in the foremast and the narrow beak. However, it possessed a characteristic stern to which it gave its name to. According to Culver, "the upper portion of the pink's stern was drawn out more or less behind the body of the vessel proper and usually terminated in a much restricted quadralateral transom." (152). The pink was more than anything amerchant ship so it had a more full hull and much less overhang at the bow and stern. At a glance, the xebec and the pink might be similar if it were not, at a closer inspection, for the unique shape of the xebec's hull.
In the late 18th century, there are accounts of xebec-frigates, ship-rigged ships with hulls similar to that of a xebec. Such designs can be yeilded to the name Polacre. These ships operated in the Mediterranean as frigates would anywhere in the world. They were owned by almost any nation with influence in the middle sea. They had three to four square sails on the main and fore masts, while the mizzen would have a large lateen sail. The hull otherwise was very similar to the xebec. The overhang, the prow, and the narrowness are all present.
From Galley to Xebec------------
The transition was very simple. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Barbary pirates were a menace to Christian shipping, but if a Christian warship could come to blows with the galleys of the Muslim corsairs, the broadsides could eliminate the oar-driven vessels quickly.
One theory is that in order to be able to run away or even stand up to a fight, galleys needed to be upgraded. The result was a sailing ship with the capacity to carry guns. Rowers had to be removed to fit the guns, so the dependancy for speed in a corsair vessel fell to sail. To accomplish this, a hull similar to a galley, long and narrow, was used, but widened to achieve greater stability to mount guns. The graceful lines were maintained, and so a xebec is formed.
As seen below, the larger image is of a xebec's hull, while the inset image is of a galley. If the galley was widened and the oar-benches removed, a xebec is formed.
The Uses of a Xebec
Since the xebec was above all an excellent sailer, her speed could be used for commerce raiding, or piracy. And that it was. Corsairs, mainly out of Algiers, sailed in xebecs with up to 36 guns, and auxillary oars.
The Spanish used xebecs to fight the Algierian pirates with their own weapon, seeing that the Corsairs would run at first sight of a warship. The French and Italian city states probably adapted the design for the same purpose.
On the Atlantic, the British were already experimenting with different kinds of techniques, and there is no doubt they tested the value to the xebec's design. It is possible they had a fleet running out of Gibraltar containing xebecs.
The Operators of a Xebec
So far, there have been accounts of Barbary xebecs, as well as Spanish (jabeque), French (chebec), Italian (sciabecco), Russian (shebeck), and to some extents British xebecs (Dart and Arrow). It is interesting to note that the Danish (schierbek), Portuguese (xebeco), and Dutch (Schebeck) have the xebec in thier vocabulary too, denoting knowledge of the vessel. As well there are some records of xebecs operating on the Great Lakes and in North America during the American Revolution and the War of 1812 (Repulse and Champion). Further there is an account of 12 xebecs in the casualty list on the Danish side of the Bombardment of Copenhagan, 1801. Each mounted 4 guns. Otherwise, the majority of xebec operation appears to have occurred in the Mediterranean.
Ground Style Infantry Tactics for the Barbary States-
While the Barbary States preferred to use thier fast manuverable Xebecs to destroy thier enemy at sea they ocasionaly had disputes with the Ottomans and Morroco, and due to thier lack of a large population to raise large offensive armies the Barbary States where anchored on 3 main deffensive areas.
The Mountains of Western Tunisa and Northern Algeria
The Mountains of Cyrencia (North Eastern Lybia)
The Sands of Fire!!! (Saharra Desert)
Due to two of thier main deffensive positions being mountainous and often using deffensive tactics and STILL using walled fortifactions (hard to get artillery moving quickly in the desert) they focus on Long Range, Accurate, and Powerful Muskets, as a trade off they have a slower rate of fire, however with thier land expansion almost non existent this suits thier style of warfare just fine, however they did have a critical force of cavalary. Despite what you see in movies and read in fiction books cammels where not used in Warfare during the 18th century much in the Magrehb, they used quick agile cavalary to attack enemy flanks, they where often equipped with 2 pistols (so you could fire 1 and reload the other as they where master horsemen and could ride with no hands only needing to ocasionaly re-direct the horse) and a rifle for longer range attacks, though not quite as long as thier footsoldier counterparts. Thier formations where usually behind walls or up on high ground whenever possible, often laying flat on thier stomachs or on spread out lines of infantry. Thier uniforms, if following history, would be a Color of Red Darker then that of the Ottomans with Gold and Olive Green Trim in places such as the Fez hat and the Sleeve Ends.
The Barbary States basically rely on Deffensive techniques using ground troops with critical skirmishing and shock cavlary designed to destroy enemy morale and if possible sabotage enemy artillery, and with thier navy abroad they may be able to afford mercenaries from the shores beyond....(like my cliffhanger lol: