Brigantine

We care not for these martial men
That do our states disdain;
But we care for those merchant men
Who do our states maintain.

— Traditional English song, arr Thomas Ravenscroft, Deuteromelia (1609)

Brigantine: Vital statistics
File:Bergantim.png
Unit type	Super light ship
Built/trained at	Dockyard
Damage and weapon type	Medium; explosive shell
Armour	Medium
Production cost	Pop cost: 2 Resource cost: 30; 30; 10 Ramp cost: 10
Range	Decent weapon range Extensive LOS
Unit move and creation speed	Unit movement speed: unbelievable Creation speed: medium
Unit HP	Medium
Technological requirements	Senate:— Legalism Fort:— Upgrade of War Galley
Factions available	All, except Asian factions, Moors, Saracens, Sicily, Spain, Turkey and Portugal

Brigantines are superb vessels. Not only are they better than war galleys in the Imperial Era, they are also have substantially more hitpoints and speed. Such power and strength however comes at a cost, however: not only must you have skilled artisans and engineers, you must also be able to allow for small, self-sustaining crews to keep them running. Thus, brigantines cost an additional 1 wood in ramp compared to the war galley, and are also available only to those with Legalism researched.

Historically, non-oared vessels dependent on sail power were clumsier and more difficult to use than galleys. It was not until towards the beginning of the 1600s that wind-propelled vessels began to replace galleys as the backbone of many navies, and even then, galleys still had their uses throughout Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean. The brigantine represented one such cross-over between oared vessels and fully sail-powered vessels in Europe. Being able to strike hard and fast, it was named as such by the Italians (in Italian, "brigantino") because it was the favourite vessel of pirates in the Mediterranean.