The other clear influence, I believe, is high seas swashbuckling. As with other influences, it’s always been there in SW from the start, though I do believe in some ways it is more pronounced here.
I remember my first general impression of the score was that it sounds far more like classic pirate films than any of the other scores do, and I think that fits the tone of the film rather well.
The main character, Rey, is a scavenger, who salvages parts from beached shipwrecks. Finn definitely feels like a soldier who’s jumped ship and shacked up with pirates. Speaking of pirates - Han’s always been one, and that’s perhaps never been more true than in this film (where we see him board and capture his old ship, haul dangerous creatures from some far flung land for money, and end up with other pirates boarding his ship looking to collect on a number of debts). He later brings the crew to Takadonna, which yes is has castle, but 100% feels like a Tortuga type island refuge for pirates.
There political situation has parallels. There’s no one power that controls all of the galaxy (seas). I just watched The Sea Hawk recently and some of the similarities are striking. In it, the Spanish Empire has been taking over a great deal of land, with secret plans to eventually invade England (and take over the whole map). England and the Crown is “peaceful” with them, but the Sea Hawks (English privateers) have been attacking Spanish ships. The Queen is publicly dismissive of them, but covertly supports them. There’s even a section of the film that deals with finding a map!
Then there’s the end of the film. Rey finds Luke on an island, and indeed the whole planet feels very much like an island in uncharted waters. The trip to Ahch-to feels very much like a journey off to an unknown spot in the New World (even if the location is supposedly ancient).
Very good points! Perhaps they used the Sail Barge in ROTJ as a springboard into full on pirate references in TFA 😉