Part 69: Q&A - December 16

Empire Total War: The Second 80 Years War quick online Q&A

Q: When ships were captured, how did the capturing party bring the ships back with them?

A: The crew of most ships were over staffed with a special group referred to as a "prize crew". A prize crew is a small group of sailors to take captured ships back to port to be brought to a prize commission. This crew would be enough to sail a ship or two back. Prize crews in other cases were simply taken from a section of the normal staff (which was very much increased over the minimum required size crew in case of casualties) and sent them aboard the prize.

Vessels wanted these prize crews as a ship captured was very rewarding. Many navies preferred capturing ships to sinking them, and sometimes crew would sink their ship rather than surrender them.

Prize crews fell out of favour after steam ships with iron sides and high powered explosive shells prevented the intact capture of vessels, making the concept of prize captures spurious in naval law.

Q: I keep hearing the voice of your radio announcers in my head. What can I do to get them out?

A: Under normal circumstances, one should consult a psychologist for voices heard where not present. However as a forewarning, we would recommend against any that are voiced on this station, as a considerable number of our presenters are psychologists.