Napoleon’s invasions of Portugal and Spain fractured Royalist sovereignty over both nations’ Empires in the New World. Patriots across the continent were quick to seize on the opportunity and as the second decade of the 19th century opened,independence movements sprang up all over the Americas. While the names of Bolivar, San Martin, and Belgrano may be familiar, the role of naval and riverine forces in the various Wars of Independence and the ensuing conflicts between the new American republics has been largely overlooked. Until now.

Under the Southern Cross: The South American Republics in the Age of Fighting Sail is the fourth volume of the highly regarded Flying Colors series of games on naval combat. The focus is on the southern part of the South American continent: Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador, from the Wars of Independence starting in 1810 through the last naval war fought completely under sail between Argentina and Uruguay in 1841. These wars attracted naval officers recently unemployed by the end of the Napoleonic Wars as well as providing a proving ground for the first generation of naval heroes native to Latin America.

Updated rules introduce river and tidal currents, modified grounding rules for operations in the Rio de la Plata and Uruguay rivers, and the use of ship’s boats to tow stranded or becalmed ships. In all, over two dozen battle scenarios ranging in size from a handful of ships per side, to full-blown fleet actions are presented. Also included is the return of the popular ship duel map and activation cards originally found in Serpents of the Seas (Flying Colors volume II), along with 18 ship duel scenarios.