AGE OF SEASACQUIRING SIGNAL
CAREER REGISTRY / 1490—1800
Not a crew list.
A world of professions.
Every occupation has its own identity, operating loop, hierarchy, skill, income, risk and historical boundary. Comparisons explain relationships; they no longer replace the career itself.
- 37
- Published dossiers
- 10
- Departments live
- 01
- Unified registry
Researched careers
Bars express relative historical scarcity and risk, not finalized game balance.
01career.ship-captainSupreme command
Ship captain
Captain · Master · Skipper
The person who compresses mission, people, hull and cargo into one final decision.
- Authority
- Ultimate decision and accountability
- Workplace
- Quarterdeck and captain's cabin
02career.sailing-masterOcean navigation
Sailing master
Sailing Master · Master Mariner
The specialist who manages error in incomplete observations and reports position into command.
- Authority
- Route, position and technical sailing advice
- Workplace
- Chart table and quarterdeck
03career.harbour-pilotLocal pilotage
Harbour pilot
Harbour Pilot · Loodsman · Pilote
The specialist who carries a changing local waterway in memory and judgment.
- Authority
- Route advice for a named port, estuary or strait
- Workplace
- Pilot boat
04career.first-mateWatch and deck management
First mate
First Mate · Chief Mate · First Lieutenant
The officer who turns the captain's orders into watches, stations and continuous deck action.
- Authority
- Daily deck organization and acting command during the master's absence
- Workplace
- Quarterdeck and watch stations
05career.boatswainRigging and deck execution
Boatswain
Boatswain · Bosun
The specialist who converts a sailing order into ropes, stations and synchronized deck labor.
- Authority
- Professional execution of rigging, cables, boats and deck equipment
- Workplace
- Main deck, forecastle and mast rigging
06career.ship-carpenterHull structure and damage control
Ship's carpenter
Ship’s Carpenter · Carpenter
The specialist who keeps deciding what must be repaired now and what can survive to port.
- Authority
- Hull, masts, yards, pumps and emergency structural repair
- Workplace
- Hold, well and hull inspection route
07career.master-gunnerOrdnance and magazines
Master gunner
Master Gunner · Gunner
The specialist who keeps dozens of dangerous weapons serviceable, controlled and repeatable.
- Authority
- Shipwide cannon, ammunition, small arms, tools and gunnery training
- Workplace
- Gun batteries, carriages and ordnance rounds
08career.ship-surgeonMedicine and crew health
Ship's surgeon
Ship’s Surgeon · Naval Surgeon
The specialist who keeps disease, accident and battle wounds from breaking the crew system at once.
- Authority
- Treatment, medical stores, case records, sanitary advice and casualty triage
- Workplace
- Sick bay and daily rounds
09career.purserSupply, pay and accounts
Purser
Purser · Naval Purser
The shipboard logistician who turns every ration, garment, pay balance and signature into an accountable chain.
- Authority
- Receipt and issue of provisions and slops, pay rolls, inventory and voyage settlement
- Workplace
- Purser's cabin and account desk
10career.ship-cookGalley, hot food and mess safety
Ship's cook
Ship’s Cook · Cook
The specialist who controls sustained fire in a rolling wooden hull and converts repetitive allowance into timed hot food for hundreds.
- Authority
- Steep tub, galley hearth, boiler cooking, galley cleanliness and fire extinction
- Workplace
- Forward galley or camboose
11career.naval-chaplainWorship, education and pastoral care
Naval chaplain
Naval Chaplain · Ship’s Chaplain
A figure without ship command who links ranks through rite, teaching, language and one-to-one trust.
- Authority
- Appointed worship, funeral, shipboard teaching, sick visit and pastoral counsel
- Workplace
- Open deck cleared for worship
12career.cabin-boyNovice labour and seamanship learning
Cabin boy
Cabin Boy · Ship’s Boy · Boy
The newcomer who enters the sea system through its smallest jobs and trades accuracy, endurance and visible skill for harder assignments.
- Authority
- No formal command; assigned message, bell, cleaning, service and elementary deck work
- Workplace
- Deck beside glass and bell
13career.barber-surgeonEarly surgery, medical chest and guild medicine
Barber-surgeon
Barber-Surgeon · Chirurgeon
A practitioner who treats maritime injury with recognized manual skill and a finite chest while barbering and surgery separate around him.
- Authority
- Assess illness and injury, perform surgical treatment, keep the chest, allocate assistants and advise on health
- Workplace
- Surgeon's cabin and chest
14career.merchant-captainMerchant command and voyage agency
Merchant captain
Merchant Master · Shipmaster · Skipper
The senior hand who organizes owners' capital, crew labour, cargo contract and uncertain sea into a deliverable voyage.
- Authority
- Voyage decision, crew and watch, vessel safety, actual stow, bills of lading and commercial action within owners' mandate
- Workplace
- Quarterdeck and inspection route
15career.supercargoOcean trade and cargo-owner agency
Supercargo
Supercargo · Cargo Owner’s Agent
The agent who carries distant capital into an unfamiliar market and converts outward goods into a documented return investment.
- Authority
- Authorized purchase, sale, inspection, money, credit, correspondence and cargo account
- Workplace
- Shipboard cargo desk and sample locker
16career.factorOverseas factory and resident trade agency
Overseas factor
Factor · Company Servant
The resident who preserves capital, market intelligence and relationships between ships so distant trade does not reset at every departure.
- Authority
- Mandated purchase and sale, warehouse and cash, local contract, correspondence, inventory and post routine
- Workplace
- Counting room and meeting room of an overseas factory
17career.maritime-interpreterLanguage mediation, port procedure and cross-cultural negotiation
Maritime trade interpreter
Linguist · Interpreter · Dragoman · Tongshi
The intermediary who converts language, number, etiquette and law into action both sides can confirm and execute while bearing the trust pressure between them.
- Authority
- Oral interpretation, written translation, numerical check, permit handling, negotiation explanation and institution-bounded brokerage
- Workplace
- Custom house, harbour office and official audience
18career.ship-clerkShipboard records, cargo evidence and commercial correspondence
Ship clerk
Ship's Writer · Clerk · Scrivano · Schrijver
The recorder who turns quay, hold, crew and owner facts into a chain that can be signed, transferred and audited.
- Authority
- Draft, copy, number, reconcile, file and report discrepancy without automatic trading or final signature authority
- Workplace
- Captain's cabin, great cabin or cramped writing desk
19career.merchant-brokerFreight market, chartering and port agency
Merchant broker
Merchant Broker · Shipbroker · Shipping Agent
The intermediary who makes a market between cargo and vessel, compressing news, credit and time into terms both sides can sign.
- Authority
- Seek offers, introduce, negotiate, form fixture and assist handoff under a principal's authority without automatic title or sea command
- Workplace
- Coffee house, exchange and merchant counting room
20career.harbourmasterHarbour traffic, anchorage, berth and public-water order
Harbourmaster
Harbourmaster · Port Master · Dockmaster · Master Attendant
The official who keeps an entire port moving under scarce tide, space and time without commanding any one vessel.
- Authority
- Register arrival, allocate anchorage, order movement, coordinate harbour boats and record fee and casualty under local authority
- Workplace
- Harbour office, quay and signal station
21career.stevedoreShipboard cargo handling, stowage and lift organization
Stevedore
Stevedore · Lumper · Master Lumper
The specialist who turns packages on a list into a hold structure that can move safely and come apart in port order.
- Authority
- Organize gang, choose gear, signal lifts, arrange dunnage and securing, and report discrepancy without replacing the master's final vessel liability
- Workplace
- Merchant-ship hold, hatchway and weather deck
22career.ship-chandlerPort procurement, stock, quality and shipboard delivery of sea stores
Ship chandler
Ship Chandler · Marine Stores Dealer
The dealer who turns several workshops, warehouses and markets into one usable vessel order before the final tide.
- Authority
- Quote, check stock, propose substitution, commission makers, pack, deliver and invoice without secretly downgrading specification or controlling stores aboard
- Workplace
- Waterside chandlery, warehouse and counting room
23career.lightermanShort cargo transfer among anchored ships, shallow quays and river warehouses
Lighterman
Lighterman · Lighter Master
The river specialist who catches cargo where ocean draft ends and carries it into water fixed quays cannot reach.
- Authority
- Decide lighter approach, mooring, load acceptance, landing position, tidal window and river route without replacing shipboard lift command or customs release
- Workplace
- Working side of an anchored merchantman
24career.quarantine-officerPort-health investigation, detention order, lazaretto zoning and pratique
Quarantine officer
Quarantine Officer · Health Officer · Sanitary Magistrate
The official at the contact line between maritime trade and city who turns incomplete evidence into an enforceable, reviewable health boundary.
- Authority
- Under appointment and local health law investigate arrivals, limit communication, zone detention and issue or advise pratique without converting medical suspicion into unlimited custody
- Workplace
- Quarantine launch, outer anchorage and inspected ship's side
25career.customs-officerPort revenue and examination
Customs officer
Customs Officer · Searcher · Inspector · Landing Waiter
The official who turns manifests, invoices and packages into auditable duty and lawful release.
- Authority
- Statutory search, supervised landing, assessment, sealing and seizure
- Workplace
- Custom House and Long Room
26career.shipwrightWooden-hull design and construction
Shipwright
Shipwright · Master Shipwright · Master Builder
The craftsperson who turns hull curves, natural timber and coordinated gangs into a floating structure.
- Authority
- Lofting, structural sequence, material use and slipway quality
- Workplace
- Mould loft and drawing room
27career.master-shipwrightDockyard construction and repair
Master Shipwright
Master Shipwright · Chief Constructor · Master Builder
The official who compresses many ships, gangs and scarce docks into one auditable engineering priority.
- Authority
- Hull survey, estimate, sequence, technical labour, material use and certification
- Workplace
- Master Shipwright office and drawing or model room
28career.mastmakerMasts and long-timber manufacture
Mastmaker
Mastmaker · Mast Maker · Spar Maker
The craftsperson who preserved axis, taper and every loaded interface across a timber tens of metres long.
- Authority
- Mast-timber grading, conversion, shaping and finished quality
- Workplace
- Dockyard mast house
29career.ropemakerCordage and cable manufacture
Ropemaker
Ropemaker · Rope Maker · Cordwainer (historical contexts)
The worker who locked thousands of fibres into a traceable load-bearing member through opposing turns.
- Authority
- Fibre grade, twist, lay, specification and finished quality
- Workplace
- Ropewalk and laying floor
30career.sailmakerSails and canvas articles
Sailmaker
Sailmaker · Sail Maker · Master Sailmaker
The craftsperson who organized fibre direction, seam and rope edge into controllable wind force.
- Authority
- Cloth assignment, cutting, sewing, reinforcement, acceptance and repair
- Workplace
- Dockyard or private sail loft
31career.anchor-smithHeavy forging and anchors
Anchor Smith
Anchor Smith · Anchorsmith · Master Anchor Smith
The specialist who turned many wrought-iron bars and many people's blows into one trusted anchor.
- Authority
- Pattern interpretation, iron allocation, heats, welding, setting and delivery
- Workplace
- Naval-yard anchor forge or smithery
32career.naval-cannon-founderOrdnance casting and gun-barrel manufacture
Naval Cannon Founder
Gun Founder · Cannon Founder · Master Founder
The specialist who turned one melt, one mould and one irreversible pour into a pressure-bearing gun barrel.
- Authority
- Gun mould, charge, melting, pit casting, cooling and casting quality
- Workplace
- Royal arsenal or naval ordnance foundry
33career.cartographerChart compilation, drawing and publication
Maritime Cartographer
Cartographer · Chartmaker · Mapmaker
The specialist who forced conflicting voyage evidence onto one scale and decided which lines a captain might trust.
- Authority
- Source collation, projection and scale, content selection, fair drawing and edition correction
- Workplace
- Private chartmaking or print workshop
34career.hydrographerCoastal control, hydrographic fieldwork and original survey
Hydrographer / Sea Surveyor
Hydrographer · Sea Surveyor · Marine Surveyor
The specialist who gave every depth a position, time and evidential chain amid wind, tide and a moving boat.
- Authority
- Survey design, shore control, sounding density, tide record, original data and resurvey decisions
- Workplace
- Survey schooner, cutter and sounding boats
35career.nautical-astronomerAstronomical observation, ephemeris computation and nautical publication
Nautical Astronomer
Nautical Astronomer · Astronomer Royal · Almanac Editor
The specialist who prearranged the future sky by date, time and meridian so a distant ship could use it to correct position.
- Authority
- Observing programme, reference stars, celestial tables, computing instructions, checking and annual issue
- Workplace
- Royal or state observatory observing rooms
36career.navigation-instrument-makerNavigational measuring instruments, calibration, retail and repair
Navigation Instrument Maker
Navigation Instrument Maker · Mathematical Instrument Maker
The craftsperson who enclosed angle, direction or time in wood, brass, steel and glass fit for a rolling deck—and answered for every mark.
- Authority
- Specification, material and components, assembly, division, adjustment, inspection and maker identity
- Workplace
- Mathematical-instrument workshop and storefront
37career.voyage-naturalistNatural-history observation, collecting, specimen management and classification
Voyage Naturalist
Voyage Naturalist · Botanist · Natural-History Collector
The specialist who turned a brief landing into durable evidence with place, number and verifiable object, then escorted it through an ocean voyage.
- Authority
- Collecting brief, field priorities, specimen identity, numbering chain, preservation triage and scientific description
- Workplace
- Shore party, tide pool, forest edge and mountain collecting ground
02 / SYSTEM MAP
The registry expands across the whole maritime economy
- 01
Command & navigation
Captain, sailing master, pilot, first mate, surveyor
- 02
Deck & craft
Boatswain, able seaman, carpenter, sailmaker, caulker
- 03
Combat & care
Gunner, armourer, surgeon, purser, cook
- 04
Trade, port & knowledge
Supercargo, interpreter, harbourmaster, shipwright, cartographer