Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1838 Benefits of the East India Company

Lieutenant Colonel Moreel stayed in Goa Port for more than half a month.

During this period, he visited some Portuguese facilities.In order to show his friendship, he donated a batch of medicines to Goa Royal Hospital on behalf of the East Coast government.This is the largest and most advanced hospital in Goa City. It can treat a large number of patients, but to be honest, the level can only be said to be very poor.To what extent is it bad? In fact, it will be clear with an example.

The most important doctor in this hospital is an Indian. The upper class, including Governor Tavola and many nobles, priests, and big businessmen, trust him very much. His main way of treating fever is to use pepper on the head of the patient. Wrap it up, instead of using a leacher to do a large amount of personal bloodletting as in traditional Western medicine until the patient recovers.

Of course, this does not mean that he will not bleed.Moreover, this doctor also made an innovation by himself, and learned from the Hindu worshipers in the countryside to prescribe cow urine for patients after bleeding, one cup at a time, three cups a day, and it is said that the patient's complexion recovered very well after drinking it good.

Perhaps this absurd way of treating diseases is unacceptable to people on the east coast, but don't complain, this Indian doctor is already the highest-level doctor in Goa Royal Hospital.Because Western medicine at this time is powerless to deal with various common diseases in India, European doctors who came here from Portugal must first let these Indians learn clinical experience.Otherwise, if they proceeded to treat patients in the European way, they might have killed more patients than cured them, although the death rate of patients treated by Indian doctors was also alarmingly high.

To be honest, most of the medicines donated by Morie Eel will be ruined by the attending doctor of Goa Royal Hospital who only knows some superficial medical skills (or quack tricks?), because he seems to have no understanding of those medicines. , let alone how to use it.Otherwise, it doesn't matter. He gave this batch of medicine mainly for the sake of friendship between the two parties. Anyway, it's fine to deliver it. How to use it is a matter for Indians.

After going to the hospital, Colonel Moreel, accompanied by the Portuguese, came to their barracks and visited the "performance" of the Portuguese soldiers again.

These reluctant soldiers were called back from overseas.They used to take small warships (refitted from Indian merchant ships) to fight against "pirates" in the coastal waters and inspect the "contraband" of passing ships, but they suddenly received an order, so they could only return to Goa unhappy.

The items performed by these soldiers are mainly formation and shooting.In terms of formation, it can only be said that they walked so-so. Of course, this is not according to the standards of the people on the east coast. Colonel Moreel has seen troops worse than them. This army directly under the command of the Governor of Goa walked like this. Appearance, already considered average.

Compared with the formation, their shooting skills are extremely bad, making it hard to see. Even Governor Tavola, who was accompanying him, felt embarrassed, because it made future allies see the poor side of their own army. , is not always a good thing.

"There is less training, and the soldiers are generally not very familiar with the process. Only some veterans from Portugal or wealthy Indo-Portuguese soldiers can shoot proficiently, but the level of those black soldiers is not flattering. It is really bad. Already." Although Morie Eel is a naval officer and not very familiar with the army, he shook his head after seeing it, and gave up the last illusion of the Portuguese soldiers' combat effectiveness in his mind.At the same time, he also gained a deeper understanding of the rigid system and ideology of the Portuguese. After all this behavior, why not go to the German region to recruit those miserable mercenaries?You know, whether it is the English or the Dutch, they wantonly use these cheap cannon fodder soldiers, but the first choice of the two countries on the Iberian Peninsula is to use their own people, and they must be Catholics again, otherwise they would rather Use colonial black soldiers like these Portuguese colonial troops in Goa.

"If a large-scale armed conflict breaks out with the Dutch East India Company in the future, these Portuguese soldiers may be able to defend the city, but the field battle is very difficult, and they may be defeated in a single battle. From this point of view, It is not accidental that the Portuguese have failed in Malabar Coast, Coromandel Coast, Ceylon Island, East Indies, Swahili Coast and even Hormuz Island over the years. Their system is indeed too backward So much so that even the training of the colonial soldiers can’t do well. It seems that if something happens to Diu Island in the future, you must not expect too much from them, and you must focus on this when you go back.” On the way to the barracks cafeteria On the way, Colonel Moreel thought silently.

Because of Colonel Moreel's insistence, today's lunch is arranged for everyone to enjoy in the barracks.There was no officer's mess in the barracks in Goa, and everyone ate in a damp, stuffy shed connected to the kitchen.Because of the distance and climate, the three major foods from the Mediterranean—bread, oil and wine—and meat are very expensive, so most ordinary soldiers eat rice with their right hands just like local Indians. , looks like an Indian.

Of course, Morley Eel learned in the past few days that the assimilation of these soldiers was obviously more than that.They imitate the Goan people to drink water from jars, so that the water does not touch their mouths; they imitate the locals by chewing betel leaves, rubbing their bodies with "sweet red sandalwood", drinking spirits extracted and brewed from palm trees, and taking frequent baths.It can be said that they have learned and accepted everything from Indian pagans. Many customs have even been popular in the army for a long time, which makes the priests worried.

“Completely Indianized Portuguese communities and cities were founded almost entirely by whites, Indo-Portugueses, Brahmins, and Kshatriyas, while the countryside was ruled by Indians, who at most expressed a certain degree of deference to their Portuguese masters, but In the face of low caste, they are still unquestionable lords. Strange society, weak army, chaotic ideology and extremely rich cities, well, we are working with such a group of people. Hope in the future Can everything go well, Indians always like to give people 'surprises', at least there are still very few pure-blooded Indians in their army, can I feel a little bit relieved about this?" Morley Eel ate specially prepared for him The barbecue, bread, cheese, butter and wine, while thinking silently: "It was a major mistake for the Dutch East India Company not to work hard and pay some price to break up Goa. Now their vigor is gradually losing. They have introduced our forces again, and they will never have a chance again."

After the embarrassing visit to the military camp, everyone returned to the Governor's Mansion in Goa.Here, the two sides finally exchanged some documents, exchanged some words of greeting, and then parted.Governor Francisco de Tavola personally sent Morley and his party to the pier, and ordered the Indians under him to deliver the goods purchased by the people on the east coast to the pier for free, which was very polite.In order to thank them for their kindness, after thinking for a while, Colonel Moreel decided to donate 32 brand-new spare rifles ([-]-C type), [-] pistols and some ammunition in the ship's warehouse to the Portuguese as gifts. Thank them for their help during this time.

After finishing these, the people on the east coast boarded the battleship "Fubo Wanli", slowly left the port of Goa with the goods and the agreement to complete the contract, and went all the way south along the coast of India.Because of the monsoon and ocean currents, they may not be able to return to Xinhua Island by the same route. They can only go south to the East Indies first, and then draw a large arc to return to the Duofan Naval Base.As for whether this move will be discovered by the Dutch, and what troubles will arise after discovery, it is beyond the control of the people on the east coast.

Before the "Fubo Wanli" left, more personnel had already been stationed on Diu Island.They will build a merchant station/fort on a piece of land designated by the Portuguese - of course they need to pay, but there are many berths, the water depth is sufficient, and overall it is not bad.Part of the funds required for construction has been reserved, and the Portuguese agreed to temporarily help to pay for the shortfall, and all construction materials were purchased from those Brahmin merchants, and the personnel were hired from them to save costs as much as possible—— Knowing that even the cost of using machines is much higher than the cost of using low-caste Indians, so why hesitate?

And not long after the people on the east coast left, on September 1681, 9, Balthazar Burt, who was inspecting troops at Galle Fort at the southern tip of Ceylon Island, suddenly received news from Indian businessmen who came to trade and learned that the East Coast The shore people arrived on Diu Island about three months ago and had secret talks with the Portuguese Governor Tavola.Later, the Arab businessmen who had never had a good relationship with the Portuguese found that the people on the east bank began to recruit people, purchase building materials, and build castles, which seemed to mean living in Diu Island for a long time. Galle Fort informed the Dutch East India Company.

These informant businessmen are basically Moors who are dissatisfied with what the Portuguese did in the Rajput area, but they have a good relationship with the Dutch, who are relatively tolerant of religion, and their business is booming.Correspondingly, the Dutch and them often share information with each other. No, they quickly informed the Dutch East India Company about the people on the east coast arriving at Diu Island and starting construction.Of course, even if they didn't come here to inform, this kind of thing can't be hidden for long. The Dutch got the news a few months later at most, and the impact was not great.

After Balthazar Burt got the news, his first reaction was that this was the Portuguese's revenge for the loss of Ceylon!Because recently, Balthazar Burt, who had always been warlike, had just assembled a fairly large army and attacked the port of Trincomalee, which was controlled by the British, by sea.

In this battle, the British East India Company, the Portuguese Colony of Goa (they also sent ships and people to help) and the native kingdoms who cooperated with them were on the side. The German mercenaries of the Dutch East India Company and their subordinates Many Malay soldiers are one side.The result of the battle is commensurate with the current situation of all parties. The Dutch East India Company won a complete victory, and the English lost the Trincomalee Port, which was somewhat operated, and were driven out of Ceylon in despair.

Now on the island, the only opponent of the Dutch is the native kingdom that has been severely damaged. I believe it is only a matter of time before it is completely wiped out and the island is controlled.Having achieved such a big victory, General Bert was quite proud at first, thinking that the interests of the Dutch East India Company in the Indian Ocean should be guaranteed, and there should be no serious challengers in the next ten years.But what happened?Early this morning, he heard the news that people from the east coast had brazenly entered India, which made him even more sad than a defeat.

Not that he was unfounded. In fact, this iconic event meant that the Dutch East India Company faced a new competitor in the Indian subcontinent and the East Indies.Moreover, this opponent is not as weak as Portugal and England. They have mature colonies in the Western Indian Ocean and can strongly support their expansion in India, just like the Dutch East India Company, which has a stable colony in the East Indies.

Balthazar Burt was also an old man who had been hanging out in the Indian Ocean for many years. Knowing that the situation was a little delicate, he did not intend to ignore the news.So he immediately returned to his bedroom, picked up a pen and paper and began to write letters to the Batavia, asking them to immediately change their tactics and stop implementing the ridiculous appeasement policy against the people on the east coast.Just because you are afraid that the people on the east coast will block the trade routes of the Dutch East India Company, and you are tied up, this kind of thinking is now proved to be extremely incorrect, because you give face to the people on the east coast, but the people on the east coast don’t give you face. So what is there to hesitate?

Balthazar Burt even pointed out that in the past few years, the people on the east coast have supported the Fujian Wang Zheng family either openly or secretly, causing them to cause a lot of trouble for the East India Company in the matter of Formosa Island, and Because of the growing immigrant population, it has become a major threat to the East India Company's control of this key island.

"Look at the large warships built by the people of the east coast for the navy of the King of Fujian, they will only be our enemies!" Balthazar Burt finally wrote: "We should give the people of the east coast a clear answer, I think Formosa is a good entry point for operations."

After writing this letter, Bert thought for a while, and ordered his followers to take the letter to the pier, intending to have it taken away by a ship that was about to set off for Batavia.As for himself, he carefully thought about how to make trouble for the Portuguese in the Indian subcontinent, and by the way, deter the people on the east coast so that they would not challenge the interests of the East India Company at will.

(End of this chapter)