The Edinburgh Trader was an 18th century Merchantman
A Merchantman was a small to medium sized ships that were common in the Caribbean in the late 17th to mid 19th centuries. They were built in the same style as Frigates, Corvettes, andBrigs, but usually did not carry as many guns. Many pirates used Merchentmen as flagships as they were medium in size and shallow drafted.
Merchentmen were generally used in single trading ventures throughout the Caribbean Sea and South Archipelago. They were a smaller variation of the common East Indiaman that were used by the EITC.