hi valamas.
The first time you play, you start as apprentice:
the lowest difficulty, you may not chose swordtype (rapier, cutlass, longsword), everything is supereasy and you get fencing as skill - you are given no choice.
I suggest learning the game a bit on Apprentice and then start over or promote to journeyman on the next divide.
I recommend Adventurer difficulty, the third, even and especially for starters. Seasoned Pirates players can even pick Swashbuckler, then it gets a bit more challenging.