However, they are vulnerable to pirates and hostile navies and so must be guarded if they are to continue serving their function.

The amount of money made is usually substantially higher than upkeep costs, so investing in indiamen can substantially boost income. Indiamen can engage in trade, generating revenue when placed at the trading theaters. These ships are not meant to fill a combat role, as they don't have enough cannons to even duel with a sloop. Of all the trading ships, they have the lowest upkeep, making them the most profitable ships for trading in the long run. Compared to their Eastern counterparts, Indiamen are much more durable and have lower upkeep, but have weaker firepower per cannon and are more expensive to build. Indiamen are the default trading ship for all Western nations.

National navies purchased Indiamen and converted them into troopships or warships. Commodore Nathaniel Dance, of the British Company fleet, received a knighthood and a handsome reward for his cunning. He withdrew in the face of “superior” forces. At the Battle of Pulo Aura (1804), the ambiguous appearance and aggressive handling of a squadron of British Indiamen completely humbugged the French admiral, Charles-Alexandre Linois. Historically, East Indiamen resembled ships of the line, both in their general configuration and paintwork. The passengers expect some creature comforts, being both officers of the owning trade companies and assorted “gentlemen” seeking their fortunes in foreign parts. Intended to sail from Europe to the other side of the world and back carrying valuable – sometimes priceless – cargoes, these ships have to be able to defend themselves. Unusually for a merchant ship, an Indiaman carries cargo, passengers, and a good number of guns. Although work for the relatively small crew is hard, there are compensations: they can trade goods in their own right, and make excellent profits by doing so. The Indiaman is a three-masted, square-rigged sailing ship of some 1000 tons displacement. It is not a warship, but can defend itself in need. With payments of 2500, I can make every nation my friend, and attack each.

In Empire, the diplomacy system almost makes the game too easy (on the Normal difficulty setting). The Indiaman is an armed merchant ship, strongly built for the trade routes between Europe and the East. Playing Medieval 2 as the Ottoman Empire on Normal/Normal, I wasn't able to win and found things incredibly difficult because of the broken diplomacy system in that game. An Indiaman is a ship type in Empire: Total War.

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