Man O' War

2017-01-31T09:48:01Z

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{{Era|AC3|AC4|ACP|ACRG|4book}}
{{WP-REAL|Man-of-war}}
{{Youmay|the ship class|the [[Men o' War|memory]] of a similar name}}
[[File:AC4 El Arca Del Maestro.png|thumb|250px|A Spanish Man O' War, ''El Arca del Maestro'']]
The '''Man O' War''' (plural: '''Men O' War'''), or '''Galleon''' – as the class was known in non-[[United Kingdom|English]] speaking countries – was a class of [[Ships|warship]] operated by, among others, the [[Royal Navy|British]], [[French Navy|French]], [[Spanish Navy|Spanish]] and [[Portuguese Navy|Portuguese]] navies. They often functioned as flagships for fleets due to their firepower and durability.

==History==
During the [[Golden Age of Piracy|early 18th century]], the Man O' War was among the most well-armed class of warship in operation throughout the [[Caribbean]]. Each ship of the class bore three masts, and was capable of fielding up to a hundred guns over three decks; on top of this, they were fitted with mortars, chain-shot, heavy shot and fire barrels, and the sheer amount of material used in their construction made them extremely robust. However, despite all of these major advantages, Men O' War possessed a major weakness in terms of their speed. As they were very slow, a well-armed, smaller ship could outmaneuver their broadsides and still land hits to destroy them.<ref name="AC4">''[[Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag]]''</ref>

One of the few Men O' War to fly the pirate colors was [[Bartholomew Roberts]]' ''[[Royal Fortune]]''. It was also outfitted with stern cannons, coupled with the ones positioned on its sides and bow, ensuring that it could return fire from any direction.<ref name="AC4"/> To mark them out from each other, British Man O' Wars had a reddish-brown coloration, while Spanish ones had black and yellow painted hulls.

Some time later, during the [[Seven Years' War]] between [[British Empire|Britain]] and [[France]], [[Templars|Templar]] [[Shay Cormac]] faced numerous Men O' War in the North Atlantic with his ship, the ''[[Morrigan]]''. Most notably, Cormac fought against French and Assassin warships, being allied with both the British and Templar Order. Men O' War were extremely uncommon in the [[River Valley]], as the waters were too shallow for a ship of that size. Near the end of the war, the French managed to get a Man O' War into the River Valley, using its mortars to bolster their firepower in the region.<ref name="ACRG">''[[Assassin's Creed: Rogue]]''</ref>

[[James Cook]] was the captain of a Man O' War, [[HMS Pembroke|HMS ''Pembroke'']], during the Seven Years' War. Shay was the helmsman of the Man O' War during the [[Siege of Louisbourg|Battle of Louisbourg]].<ref name="ACRG"/>

In the years surrounding the [[American Revolutionary War]], the [[Assassins|Assassin]] [[Ratonhnhaké:ton|Connor]] faced many Men O' War along the East Coast with his ship, the ''[[Aquila]]'', and was able to destroy them all, making the trade routes along the coast safer. These Men O' War possessed a significant weakness to chain-shot, which could destroy their masts and cripple them, leaving them an easy target.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed III]]''</ref>

==Legendary ships==
During the early 18th century, there were five "legendary" Men O' War that roamed the four corners of the Caribbean, each with their unique naval warfare styles and construction. Three of them belonged to the Royal Navy while two sailed under the flag of the Spanish Navy.<ref name="AC4"/>

These five ships were significantly more well-armed, faster and armored than any other Men O' War in the Caribbean, and provided a significantly greater challenge to any would-be attacker. Their distinguishing characteristics made them notorious throughout the Caribbean, and they were feared by servicemen and [[Piracy|pirates]] alike.<ref name="AC4"/>

Each of these legendary ships was eventually sunk by [[Edward Kenway]]'s ''[[Jackdaw]]'', and their supply of gold, 20,000 reales on average, claimed by the pirate's crew.<ref name="AC4"/>

Another pirate, [[Alonzo Batilla]], also encountered several legendary ships, as he traveled across the West Indies. Each ship contained a great sum of coins and occasionally a [[Lost files|lost file]] could be found after a ship had been sunk.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Pirates]]''</ref>

Years later, around the time of the Seven Years' War, there were seven more of these ships roaming the corners of the [[Atlantic Ocean|North Atlantic]], all equipped with heavy armaments and supported by other ships. One of these ships was the fearsome ''[[Storm Fortress]]'', under control of the Assassins. However, Shay Cormac defeated her and the other five ships by using the ''Morrigan''.<ref name="ACRG"/>

==Notable Men O' War==
*''[[El Arca del Maestro]]''
*''[[Gerfaut]]''
*''[[Hollander]]''
*[[HMS Courage|HMS ''Courage'']]
*[[HMS Pembroke|HMS ''Pembroke'']]
*''[[King George]]''
*''[[Royal Fortune]]''

===Legendary ships===
*Encountered by [[Edward Kenway]]
**''[[El Impoluto]]''
**''[[La Dama Negra]]''
**[[HMS Fearless|HMS ''Fearless'']]
**[[HMS Prince|HMS ''Prince'']]
**''[[Royal Sovereign]]''
*Encountered by [[Alonzo Batilla]]
**''[[HMS Devonshire]]''
**[[HMS Ormonde|HMS ''Ormonde'']]
**[[HMS Pembroke (1710)|HMS ''Pembroke'' (1710)]]
**''[[L'Alexandre]]''
**''[[L'Amazone]]''
**''[[Le Protée]]''
**''[[Princesa do Céu]]''
**''[[Red Ruin]]''
**''[[San Pedro]]''
**''[[Stalwart]]''
**''[[Triunfo]]''
**''[[William Rex]]''
*Encountered by [[Shay Cormac]]
**''[[Argonaut]]''
**''[[Cauldron]]''
**''[[Couronne]]''
**''[[Formidable]]''
**''[[Pilgrim]]''
**''[[Sceptre]]''
**''[[Storm Fortress]]''

==Trivia==
*Although the plural for "Man O' War" is "Men O' War", in the ''[[Assassin's Creed III]]'' memory "[[Biddle's Hideout]]", [[Richard Clutterbuck]] referred to them as "Man O' Wars".
*Historically, the official name for Man O' War is Ship-of-the-line and the term was used mainly for British and Colonial Navies.

==References==
{{Reflist}}
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{{ACRG}}

[[pt-br:Man O' War]]
[[Category:Men O' War| ]]

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Man O' War