"Armed Merchants in wargames." Topic

Visiting this interesting link which shows some Armed Merchants for the Anglo-Dutch Wars…

… wonder to ask if anybody used Armed Merchants for naval wargames in Napoleon Era.
If the answer is yes, which caliber of cannons they could used for defense and how many pieces?.
About the movement at sea, they move more slowly than warships?.
Anybody had wargame with a convoy of Armed Merchants?

Thanks in advance for your guidance.

Amicalement
Armand

Armed Merchants for the Anglo-Dutch Wars…

From 1652 – 1784.
So why do you ask about the Napoleonic Wars?

You could easily game with armed merchants in asian waters during the napoleonic period, Tango.

As I recall, most of the ships of the Honourable East India Company were well armed-- although the definition of "well-armed" would've been somewhat different in Asian waters than in the North Atlantic. Depending on their size, Company ships might carry from 30 to 64 guns, although I've heard they tended mostly to be 12-pounders, and their crews would've been small and poorly trained by navy standards. Their hulls tended to be strong and well-built, however; the Royal Navy bought a handful of them, and converted them into 54s and 64s, with proper naval guns.

The larger East Indiamen would have been more than a match for a light frigate, but against heavy frigates or ships of the line it was either bluff (i.e. the "battle" of Pulo Aura) or surrender.

Because I'm interested to know about Napoleonic Naval Era?

Thank's for your guidance Mike and Nudy'a!

Amicalement
Armand

They'd manoevre more slowly, as they would have had much smaller crews, but would've been able to sail in a straight line as fast as a 64 or 74.

I believe Grand Fleet Actions in the Age of Sail has rules for armed merchantmen (I've only skimmed them).

They, like Spanish hulks, were slower and less manoeuvrable than "proper" warships, but could sometimes hold their own against frigates, or even poorly-handled small ships of the line.

No hard and fast rules on calibre and number of cannon, it's really a matter of what was available at the time – I've played a couple of Pacific convoy scenarios where Suffren was surprised to find Q-ships waiting for him in the convoy!