Instead they made up a bunch of islands and called it The Archipelago. Anyway, I found that a small disappointment.
Controls are simple enough.
The arrow keys or the left mouse button propel Nicholas forward in town. You can interact with people and pursue conversation trees to their conclusion. Ingeniously the first few townspeople you meet with explain how to do most everything, which makes up for the slim manual a bit. When aboard ship the WASD keys move the ship around, tacking with the wind. You can raise and lower sails to protect them from cannon fire or make good your escape.