The initial missions to become a captain of your country are hard to begin--you have to find individual players or fleets of a handful of countries. I'm almost done with Quartermaster missions before I've begun mission one of the nation missions.

They are difficult on purpose and they get even more difficult as you move up.
They are not really meant for newcomers and even advanced players will have difficulties finishing them fast.

There are several reasons for the difficulty level. The main reason is that each rank adds a considerable bonus.

..and I went ahead and accidentally became a pirate anyway, and just as my country USA finally got a port:) Oh, well, them's the breaks on the high seas, laddy!!!

Sharpen your knives boys, its a plundering time!

You can always hit NPCs for the ranks.