Answer:
What I see in the Placard
These looks like ships that have come to trade goods in an underdeveloped area which most likely depicts Africa.
Cause ⇒ Need for New Markets
European countries were in a race to acquire more resources and become richer and so they needed new markets to sell their goods. Africa was a vast continent and Europeans saw this as an opportunity to sell their products and so shipped their goods to be sold in Africa.
