Radcliff's Armada

Radcliff's Armada is an informal name given to a combined fleet of English and Dutch ships under the command of William Radcliff of Atlantis. The Armada was created with express purpose of destroying the Avalon pirates that preyed upon the ships that passed through the Hesperian Gulf, the most notorious of those pirates being Radcliff's distant cousin, Red Rodney Radcliffe.

The government of England had grown exasperated with the bold rapiciousness of the Avalon corsairs. Emissary Elijah Walton approached Radcliff about participating in an offensive against Avalon proper. Soon, they secured the resources of Piet Kieft, the governor of Nieuw Haarlem in North Terranova. Kieft had been personally assaulted and humiliated by Radcliffe, and was anxious to see the pirate dead. He was even prepared to let the English take command of the overall fleet. William Radcliff himself was anxious to lead the offensive as admiral. After some resistance from Walton, Radcliff was made admiral of the fleet.

Radcliff secured the aid of another distant cousin, Marcus Radcliffe, who willingly provided some sixty Atlantean woodsmen as marines.