I'm pretty sure I have a thread open about sailing, but I cant find it. Apologies for being redundant.... What kinds of ships were used as passenger ships? Like really fancy, decked out in ornate carvings and metalwork with comforts for notabilities. I keep running in to frigates and galleons, but, weren't those primarily used for war? Would a war ship be used as a passenger ship?
Sailing for pleasure wasn't a thing in the 17th and 18th century. The Mayflower was a square-rigged merchantman, not dissimilar to this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluyt Important people, such as people travelling to the new world to take up important positions would travel on military vessels. The colonial powers were at war, so the risk of attack was always present. An East Indiaman would carry both cargo and passengers either heading for the orient or back to Europe. They were heavily armed - the Royal Navy acquired some to convert into fourth rate frigates. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Indiaman
I ran into "East Indiaman" during my research... does this go by another name? My setting is in an alternate world. The continents aren't like ours, so having a line of ships called "East Indiaman" wouldnt make sense for the setting. A little background: my MC is sailing to a string of islands with her father who is private trader. Though it is in an alternate world, the time period is based on the 17th-18th century maritime. The one of the islands is more touristy, where the rich go to vacation. He is pointing out the different ships to her and points to one of these passenger ships, though, I dont know what to call it
An East Indiaman is basically an armed merchantman. You have to remember, sea voyages took months in the 17th-18th century. No one simply went on vacation to the West Indies (for example) during that time, because at a minimum, that would mean them being away from home for half a year. This being a fantasy world, that's obviously not a consideration. Some kind of galleon would be the ship of choice, but it would be a merchant ship, not a passenger ship. There simply wasn't enough demand for ships to be dedicated to passengers.
