16bit errors occur cuz you have a 32 bit os (windows 2000/xp i presume?). are you using DOSbox? download it from this site, it even works for my xp 64bit edition.
and thanks for the fix up from whoever another_guest was. im gonna go try to get some cool figureheads
also, from my previous post, the ships are called 'fully-rigged ships' and its in antwerp, not amsterdam.
those holy weapons are also called crusaders armor/sword.
i guess the japanese version i use to play bout 10 years ago was a bit different.
and for the istanbul-athenes trade route, get some tax free permissions when you have a title. itll boost your pure income up to about 30,0000 gold each trade round.