Trust me there are some very important details in the story that root in the setting, just sort of think lostish with towns. This post-apocalyptic caribbean is where everyone went if they escaped. They’re worn down but not absolutely horrible. Also pirates were not very common before the setting of the story, they were sometimes thought of as myths bc they never had came to the islands. They are from another continent or chain of islands and are on a mission to harvest anything they can from every island they see.