Failninja said:
The very correct phrase that makes one doubt the possibility of the Greyjoys surviving in general, especially after Balon's Rebellion, which was successfully suppressed by the combined forces of several houses. I recognize the right of GRRM, like any author in general, to write as he sees fit, but c'mon, the Iron Islands and their population are some kind of cruel nonsense.
Let's start with something simple - the ships of the Greyjoy fleet. The historical Vikings of Earth lived in regions with an abundance of wood, namely oak, pine and ash, as well as the presence of first-class iron ore and pasture for sheep. A cosmic amount of wood was required for one ship, since any serious defect in the trunk immediately affected the mechanical properties of the boards and beams. For the keel and frames, trees with natural curves were specially chosen, and a solid oak trunk about a hundred years old was used on the keel. The boards for the cladding were made from strands, split with wedges into several parts along the grain, so that they could be bent without fear of cracking. From one pine trunk, at best, two high-quality boards were obtained, more often one. They also required a half-ton of strong nails, excellent iron tools (axes, chisels, drills), about a ton of pine resin and twice as much wool from Northern European sheep. Properly processed wool retained a lanolin layer covering the animal's hair, which subsequently protected the sail from getting wet. Considering that one sheep produced no more than five pounds of wool per year, it took about three years to make a large sail. The sail often cost more than the ship itself.
The drakkar has advantages, for example, it behaves well in strong waves, as if flowing around the waves, and is hardly noticeable in stormy weather. And most importantly, it is fast, compared to other ships of that era: about 12 knots under sail versus 7-8. And then the continuous disadvantages begin.
Its carrying capacity is very low, it is designed for a squad of 35-50 people, and everyone except the jarl rows in shifts. And most importantly, it cannot accommodate a large supply of water, which the authors almost never think about. A warrior rower sweats; he needs one and a half gallons of water a day just to survive. Taking into account the fact that the barrels are not completely sealed and the quality of the water is not always the same, about a hundred gallons were stored for a day, that is, two barrels. Therefore, on long voyages, the Vikings went to the northern seas, where they could catch fragments of icebergs in the waves and get melted fresh water from them.
The best sails last up to thirty years, but a longship rarely withstood fifteen years of operation. Sea water is an aggressive environment, wood deteriorates quickly, and if you need a fleet of longships, you will have to change it with enviable regularity. And each drakkar, as we remember, is six hundred old pine trees, a dozen large oaks, a ton of resin, two tons of wool and three hundred pounds of iron. And this is not counting special clothing for rowers, like a long robe with the wool inside, without which they would die at sea from hypothermia, and other stuff. Therefore, in general, there were not very many Viking squads: few could afford the luxury of constantly having a ship.
So here it is. European Vikings were tolerated for two reasons: firstly, there were relatively few Viking warriors (there were more traders, a Viking merchant ship was ten times cheaper to manufacture and operate), and secondly, those who were mainly mercenaries. And this is an important resource: skilled, strong warriors on their own sea transport, whom you can hire to fight and who you don't mind if they suddenly die! All serious players in Europe (and partly Asia) hired these daredevils. Europe benefited from the Vikings.
And what's the use of the Greyjoys on their islands? To hell with the economics of the issue that the islands, unlike a peninsula the size of several states, will never be able to support a large fleet, but just why are they needed there, with their age-old traditions of plundering the coast? Several great houses on the continent have their own fleets, their own port infrastructure, their own experienced captains. Your sea trade is the most reliable (and probably the fastest) way of cargo communication, and also the cheapest, since the wind, unlike a horse, does not ask for food. And the main export product of the Iron Islands is sick assholes with axes, which in peacetime is not needed for nothing, but in wartime there is already an abundance.
Why save the Greyjoys, they are not mountain clans of Eyrie, lurking in the middle of nowhere, they are a bane of your state industry of paramount importance?
