Worst Miscalculation

Long-distance voyages eat up a lot of money.

The labor costs of people who have to live aboard ship for months on end, the food to feed them, the upkeep for the sailing ships, the cost of weapons... Ordinary people simply can't afford expenses like that.

So merchant ships receive investment from nobles.

"I'll back your ship with 20,000 credits, so hand over 10 percent of whatever you earn on this voyage to me."

Naturally, investments like that come with considerable risk.

The goods bought in trade are so profitable that as long as they arrive, it's guaranteed profit, but the sea is not such a forgiving opponent.

If a ship backed with 20,000 credits arrives and sells goods worth 300,000 credits, they get 30,000 credits back.

But if it runs into a storm and sinks, or meets a sea monster, or a mutiny breaks out aboard, it becomes zero credits.

There were some sort of insurance systems, but only the bare minimum.

Meaning they would keep you from starving to death, but they wouldn't recover the lost 20,000 credits...