They were the finest sea-farers of the time, they were a large part of the crews that "colonized" the modern world. To be a sea-farer you had to be a jack of all trades, astronomy, navigation, climatology, cartography, bravery, and knowing how to make booze. Don't underestimate your heritage, mine are filled with cannibals and jews and slave traders, and pirates, and artists, and engineers. Your genetic lineage culminates in your untapped potential.