Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1404 The Land Below the Wind

There is no fight in South Africa, but in the East Indies and surrounding waters, the two East India companies have fought several times because of the spice trade. Just like in history, the stronger Dutch East India Company currently occupies, the above It was the news recently received by Lieutenant Ding Zhen, who was anchored at the port of Malacca.

Speaking of this, I have to mention that Captain Ding Zhen has now been transferred from the third all-steam powered ship "Da Yuhu" on the east coast, and has transferred to another sailing warship as the captain.As for the "Big Fish Lake", in fact, it has been parked in the dock of the Hyundai Special Shipyard for maintenance after the last mission. No, it has been clearly stated that such an unreliable ship will not be ordered, they only rely on the motor sailing ship, unless the modern special shipyard and the first heavy machinery factory make major improvements to the ship's power system.

The ship "Polaris" that Captain Ding Zhen is currently assigned is a new type of ship produced by Zhenhai Shipyard. The ship was jointly designed by Mo Ming's wife Lola and the famous mathematician and ship designer Viviani. It is 35.4 meters long, 10.2 meters wide, and has a draft of about 3 meters. It has a load capacity of 581 tons, is loaded with 28 artillery pieces (mostly 8-pound and 12-pound naval guns), and has a rated crew of 140.

It can be seen from the data that the speed of this battleship is not slow, at least it is much faster than the old-fashioned "Madao" class frigate, so it can be used to perform various tasks, such as in the main fleet. Forward scouting patrols, sending messages to and from Grand Fleets, conducting escort missions, conducting privateering operations, and combating piracy or smuggling ships.When facing ordinary merchant ships or armed merchant ships, this kind of ship called "light cruiser" can easily defeat opponents much larger than it with its powerful firepower; It has a disadvantage in defense, but it can quickly leave the battlefield with its relatively brisk speed to protect itself.

The hull of the "Polaris" is relatively straight, and the forecastle and poop are basically retracted into the deck to reduce resistance.There is a layer of windows in the stern, using a three-masted sail structure, the hull is still relatively strong, the sail rigging is also greatly simplified, and the maneuverability is excellent, demonstrating the outstanding ship design and construction technology of the East Coast.

Currently, Captain Ding Zhen is taking this ship for sea trials, sending some government documents to the Far East. Of course, the cabin is also loaded with a lot of supplies, such as canned food, biscuits, chocolate (liquid beverage), Dai tea, medicines, raincoats and rain boots, armor, bayonets, military canteens, gun barrels, mechanical parts and other commodities, after all, the cabin cannot be left empty.Basically, after they go back from the sea trial and the technical experts of the Ministry of the Navy confirm that everything is fine, the Ministry of the Navy will place an order to start the construction of the second and third ships of this type of ships at the same time-the "Southern Cross" and "Southern Cross". "Sirius" - to gradually replace the old, backward, fast and unreasonably designed "Madao" class sail escort gunboat.

The "Polaris" set off from the Hailing Port Naval Base in Yancheng County in late January 1665, and stopped at Dayuan Port and Daze Township after crossing the Atlantic Ocean. It caught the southwest wind in early April, and it took less than 1 days. In time, it crossed the ocean and arrived at the city of Malacca. This speed was indeed extremely fast, and it deserved the reputation of a light cruiser.

At the moment, the "Polaris" is moored in the city of Malacca, and the novel shape design of the ship has also attracted the attention of the Dutch.Thanks to the great reputation of the people on the east coast in inventions and creations, many people are paying attention to and analyzing their every move. However, it is obvious that both the Dutch and England like to build a large number of battleships. Weird corvettes are not very fond of.Moreover, because the "Polaris" has a small cabin capacity in pursuit of speed, maneuverability, and flexibility, this further reduces the interest of the Dutch—a warship that cannot be converted into a merchant ship after the war, except for battleships, who Will you need it?It's just as extravagant as the people on the east coast, specially designing and building this kind of professional warship with narrow use.

When it comes to professional warships, the Dutch East India Company has few professional warships in the Far East, and almost all of them are armed merchant ships.But don't underestimate this kind of armed merchant ship. For so many years, the Dutch East India Company has relied on these modified armed merchant ships to conquer the east and west, conquer the north and the south, and defeat the Spaniards, Portuguese, Competitors such as the English conquered and oppressed many princes at the same time, and grabbed the largest share of the lucrative spice trade.

For example, the ongoing war between the two East India companies-maybe it is a bit inappropriate to call the war, because the news of the declaration of war between the two countries has not yet officially spread to the East Indies, and the Dutch East India Company only rose up out of profit motives It's just provocation-the numerous armed merchant ships in the Netherlands put great pressure on the English.For example, the Dutch have many ships stationed in Galle Fort all year round. It is not a problem to pull out more than a dozen armed merchant ships if necessary. However, it seems difficult for the English East India Company to organize a fleet of this size, so it is no wonder that they are in the East Indies. Step by step was squeezed by the Dutch.

You must know that although the "Westminster Treaty" signed after the first Anglo-Dutch War gave English merchants the same power as the Dutch in the East Indies, it must be known that there has never been a good thing for the world. If you want to implement this power, you have to go deep into the archipelago to buy spices, and this must first go through the Dutch - they have been operating in the East Indies for so many years. , At the same time, it also forced a large number of princes to submit to themselves, prohibiting them from trading with merchants other than the Dutch East India Company, otherwise they would be punished mercilessly, which made the merchants of the British East India Company complain to the sky.

For example, the Dutch East India Company destroyed the clove trees on all the other islands, and only kept the island of Delaware under its control, and built a fort on it, stationed hundreds of German mercenaries, and forced the natives on the island to only grow spices. , and then use cloves to exchange rice, salt, cloth (Indian calico) and other daily necessities with the Dutch, which is tantamount to monopolizing the trading rights of such a precious spice as cloves, so that others can only stare blankly.Even in some years when the price of cloves has a downward trend, they will artificially destroy a large number of clove trees and control their production in order to stabilize the price and maximize profits.

For another example, they have an advantage in the Banda Islands, which are rich in nutmeg. Over the years, they have wiped out the natives who refused to obey their discipline, and most of the rest are more obedient and obedient.Therefore, after the British merchants came to the Banda Islands to buy nutmeg and nutmeg skins, even if the local natives were willing to sell these spices to them, as long as the Dutch made a little face, they would He quickly turned his face and refused to sell spices to the English.Even if some brave natives dared to sell some spices without telling the Dutch, the quantity was far from enough, and the British were so distressed that they had to try their luck in other islands to find sellers of nutmeg.

Therefore, the results obtained by the British from the first Anglo-Dutch war were resolved a lot by the Dutch East India Company in four or two ways, so that they could only purchase some in the East Indies despite their hard work. Spices that were far from satisfying their appetites—especially the relatively rare cloves, nutmeg, and nutmeg peel—in the end, the British could only turn to the large purchases of pepper and cinnamon that were not monopolized by the Dutch. The Dutch monopolized most of the spices, most of which were produced in Ceylon), fennel, ginger and other spices were shipped back to Europe for sale, and the profits they gained were far from comparable to those of the Dutch East India Company.

But even though the British East India Company has been squeezed to such an extent in the spice trade, in the eyes of the Dutch East India Company, they are still "heinous" and "unforgivable", because their existence has seriously hindered the The Dutch East India Company's plan to monopolize the spice trade may cost millions of guilders every year. Therefore, in their view, the British must die!At least, the British East India Company must stay away from the East Indies completely, and finally promise the monopoly of the four spices of cloves, nutmeg, mace, and cinnamon to the Dutch East India Company, otherwise they will die forever, just like they were like mad dogs back then Like biting the Portuguese.

Ding Zhen actually understood the idea of ​​the Dutch East India Company very well. The East Indies were almost their G*** point, and they couldn't stand it once they touched it.The British risked their lives, relying on the rights conferred by the Treaty of Westminster, and kept searching and purchasing spices in the East Indies. It is conceivable how much anger the Dutch have accumulated over the years, otherwise they would not As soon as he heard that there were conflicts between the two countries in West Africa, the Caribbean and the North American continent, he began to try to attack and squeeze English businessmen.I believe that once the two countries officially declare war, it will be inevitable for the Dutch East India Company to start a war against the British East India Company. I just don’t know how the two of them will fight in the end. Captain Ding Zhen is looking forward to it—— It’s best for the two of them to fight each other. Anyway, the people on the east coast have no interests in India and the East Indies. The spices enjoyed in the country are still mainly purchased from the Dutch East India Company (occasionally also from the Portuguese or the English. Purchasing part), their human brains are out of dog brains, and they have nothing to do with people on the east coast!

Among the news he heard in the port of Malacca, in addition to the two East India companies, he also inquired about some things about Han immigrants from Luzon Island from the port of an immigrant ship on the east coast moored at the wharf.It is said that since the fleet led by Han Dezhi "visited" Manila in February last year and reached a preliminary immigration agreement with the Spaniards, the people on the east coast have started a plan to relocate some Han immigrants from Luzon Island, and the relocation officially started at the end of last year. At present, it is believed that two ships have transported more than 2 Luzon Han people to three places in Xinhuaxia Island, Yicheng area and Hezhong area to supplement the local population.

However, the mere 2400 immigrants are obviously not all that the Spaniards asked for. In their view, at least 1 to 2 people must be expelled to be "relaxed", because these people are basically non-religious heretics. It is a hidden danger that must be addressed.But they didn't dare to slaughter them directly, for fear of triggering a war, so they had to negotiate with the East Bank to take them away, so that both families were happy.

Among them, the only ones who have suffered losses are probably these Luzon Han people. They are mainly merchants and handicraftsmen. Don’t think too much about the local houses, fields and other properties. Basically, they can only sell them at low prices or even abandon them directly. Yes, it made those Spanish colonists much cheaper, just like the Castiles who made a lot of money after expelling and massacring the Moors and Jews many years ago.

And for the Han people in Luzon, there is nothing they can do about cheap Spaniards. Who makes people kill me for fish and meat?It’s good enough to save a life. Don’t you see how few Han people have been massacred by the Spaniards in the past few decades?It's just that I didn't know how to do it in the past ten years and never dared to do it!Now it is the best ending to let them leave with their belongings such as gold, silver and soft goods (some of them can even sell some real estate if they find a next home), and I can only hope that they can live a good life when they come to this East Coast Republic of China. I heard that they call themselves "descendants of the Song Dynasty", so they should not treat them lawlessly like the Spaniards.

According to the prior plan, the immigrants from the first two ships will be allocated to New China, Yicheng and the Hezhong area, and the next four ships will send a total of 4800 Luzon Chinese to the mainland.Many of these people are handicraftsmen or long-standing plantation managers and laborers. They are talents that are lacking in the local area. Hue, Seguro and other newly occupied lands pioneered and settled.

And after these 6 immigration transport ships have completed, this year's Indian Ocean immigration transport route will almost be closed, because the southwest monsoon prevails in the northern Indian Ocean in summer and autumn, and the ocean current has become a clockwise direction that is unfavorable for navigation, which is no longer suitable for immigration. Transportation, so we can only wait for the next year.Ding Zhen heard that there will be another six ships to be transported next year before the end. At that time, apart from the natives and a small number of Japanese immigrants on Luzon Island, there will only be Han Chinese who have all converted to Catholicism. The basis of Spanish rule is greatly improved. Stability, of course, this is not a bad thing for the people on the east coast, at least they have a large number of people to enrich the domestic and overseas colonies, isn't it?

On April 1665, 4, the light cruiser "Polaris" which had been replenished and rested slowly left the wharf of the port of Malacca, adjusted its sails and headed straight for the South China Sea. The city has not yet been officially handed over to the Portuguese.

(End of this chapter)