Skull and Bones is an upcoming tactical sea-warfare game set during the Golden Age of Piracy. Players will take on the role of pirate captain, plundering the Indian Ocean for loot and glory. Skull and Bones will be the first title from Ubisoft Singapore, and is heavily influenced by the naval combat of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag.
Like Black Flag, Skull and Bones takes place in the Golden Age of Piracy, a period which spans from the 1650s to the 1730s. The rise of global trade, colonialization, and exploration during this time created plentiful opportunities for plunder. The Golden Age of Piracy can be divided into three periods, during which maritime piracy was a significant factor in the histories of the Caribbean, Indian Ocean, North Americas, and West Africa.
The Golden Age of Piracy began with the buccaneering period, which spanned from 1650 to 1680. The original buccaneers were English and French hunters from the Caribbean island of Hispaniola. Their transition from island-dwelling hunters to sea-faring pirates came when Spain attempted to drive them off the island. Moving to the more defensible island of Tortuga, the buccaneers began raiding Galleons that were returning to Spain.
Their efforts were accelerated by the English capture of Jamaica. This allowed the buccaneers to gain letters of marque from the English governors. A letter of marque is a document that gives a private person, also known as a privateer, the right to attack and capture ships belonging to a nation at war with the one that issued it. In addition, the English expansion of the Jamaican city of Port Royal provided the buccaneers with a perfect place to sell their loot.
By the end of the 17th Century, piracy in the Caribbean was becoming steadily less profitable. The decline of English-French relations put an end to the profitable relationship between Tortuga and Port Royal, the latter of which was partially destroyed in an earthquake in 1692. In addition, colonial governors were becoming less willing to hand out letters of marque, removing the pirates’ shield of legitimacy.
With the decline of Caribbean piracy, many ships turned their attentions to the Indian Ocean instead. This was the start of the Pirate Round, a sailing route that travelled from the west Atlantic to Madagascar, and then on to targets of opportunity around the Indian and Yemeni coasts. Skull and Bones will be set in the Indian Ocean, letting players take the role of a captain on the Pirate Round.
The appeal of the Indian Ocean lay in the vast amounts of luxury goods that came from India, which exceeded Europe in economic output at the time. In addition, the countries on the Indian Ocean lacked powerful navies. Just like in Rare’s Sea of Thieves, this gave the pirates free-rein to plunder local shipping as well as the international routes of the colonial trading companies.
While the Pirate Round continued to be used into the 1720s, by 1713 the main focus of maritime piracy returned to the Caribbean. This was caused by the end of the War of the Spanish Succession, which saw thousands of naval seamen and privateers across multiple nations suddenly unemployed. For the next decade, piracy boomed amid a growing surge in transatlantic shipping.
European nations established the Triangular Trade, a route which went from Europe to Africa, Africa to North America, and then back to Europe. The return journey was the most lucrative for pirates, as it involved valuable raw resources from the new world that could easily be sold on. To create a marketplace for these goods, a new pirate haven was established at Nassau in the Bahamas. It’s for these reasons that the vast majority of pirate games and other media are set during the Post-Spanish Succession period.
While Skull and Bones‘ naval warfare is set in the Indian Ocean, it seems likely that the game will explore other regions of the Golden Age of Piracy at some point. After all, some of the most famous names of the era, including Blackbeard, Calico Jack Rackham, Henry Morgan, Captain Kidd, and “Black Sam” Bellamy were known for their daring exploits in the Caribbean.
Skull and Bones is currently in development for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
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