The imagined fleet begins with about a dozen ships of roughly 200 to 300 tons, carrying an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 troops. More shipping is then envisaged to support a substantially larger force, eventually as many as 12,000 men. These are rough estimates within the scenario, without a demonstrated transport calculation. The Japanese force would have matchlock muskets and cannon. Spanish troops would therefore face an opponent with firearms and could not assume an advantage from possessing them.
Notable Point · 1:56:47-1:59:24
Shipping and firearms in the imagined expedition
Rough transport estimates and Japanese firearms shape the proposed military balance in the counterfactual.