Spirits Afloat

Life aboard ship would not be the same without rum and other distilled spirits. Rum in particular helps the sailors actually enjoy meals that would otherwise be either bland or taste "off" since has a tendency to rot in a ship. In addition it helps relieve the extreme boredom of ship life, and acts as a moderate antibiotic in drinking water.
Many of the navies of the Western Ocean have adopted rum as part of their their naval traditions, with the expection of the Aquatainians who prefer brandy for the officers and as rewards to the sailors. This has created a demand not just for common rum, but also for the finer spirits consumed as a popular trend by the nobility and wealthy of the Western Kingdoms. The creation of rum requires sugar from either beets or sugar cane, which has boosted economic development incentive of the warmer regions of the Western Ocean. This in turn has boosted migration, as well as forced "transport" for prisoners to create a cheap labor force.

Sugar and sugar beet plantations are a big industry and with the increased shipping that it brings also brings more profitable piracy. This economic boon, regardless of the increased piracy it getting more and more attention from the Western Kingdoms. Even the newer Kingdom of Thuringia is getting into the region, enjoying the benefits of sugar and its accompanying rum and other refined spirits.

Let it be known that the Crown advises that each sailor in his majesties navy should be issued one tot of rum each day
~ Internal memo of the Saxony Admiralty

In Our Earth, rum and the sugar industry were a large driver behind the slave trade and the economic triangle to Europe that included the slave trade. In the world of Atlantica the use of slaves is viewed as evil, as it should be. The history of Atlantica includes the enslavement of every ancestory by the undoubtedly evil K'Thonum which ended some 1900 years ago. Everyone remembers this and so slavery is outlawed.
It is the professional and educated opinion of this author that slavery is immoral, as is any glorification of it's history or the glorification of the supporters of the slave trade. It simply is not ok.