Cantha shutters its embassies as corsairs flourish

By 940 AE the Canthan embassy in Ascalon City had stood empty for nearly forty years, ever since the empire severed its trade ties with the north. It was finally closed by decree of Ascalon's king — an event that went virtually unnoticed by a Cantha that had already cut off contact with its neighbors. The vacated structure was converted into a temple, later toppled by an earthquake that many blamed on disapproving gods.

The Guild Wars Wiki ties this same year to a surge in corsair activity: with the great powers turned inward, the seas grew lawless.