1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 682
December 1652, 12, Batavia.

The No.11 governor of the Dutch East India Company in Batavia, Carl Vinierer, stood at the pier, watching the company's first batch of fleets returning to mainland Europe leave the port one by one, heading for the Strait of Malacca, for a long time He remained silent, with a bit of anticipation on his face, but also a bit of apprehension and worry.

What he expects is that the company's business form will be good, and the fleet returning to Europe will be filled with countless valuable commodities. He believes that these goods will definitely create amazingly high profits for the company after they arrive in Europe, thereby improving the company's performance. pushed to a new historical height.As a governor who has performed his duties for less than two years, he will definitely be affirmed and praised by the board of directors.

Two years ago, the previous governor, Van der Lin, very wisely ended the war that broke out with Hanzhou in the south, and then repaired the bilateral relationship with him, and then launched in-depth economic and trade cooperation, thus expanding the trade between the two sides, for the The company has won a strong Asian trading partner.

Last year, taking advantage of the dispute between Hanzhou and the Ming general Zheng Zhilong, the East India Company joined forces with Hanzhou in time to jointly attack Zheng's sea power and foreign trade channels, allowing the company to regain the lost trade with Japan in one fell swoop. The rights have expanded the company's business scope and correspondingly increased the company's trade income.

According to the preliminary estimates of the company's senior commercial counselor and financial officer, the company's overall trade volume this year is likely to exceed 800 million dong, twice that of four years ago.According to this development momentum, next year's trade volume will have a high probability of exceeding 3000 million dong, and continue to consolidate the East India Company's dominance in the United Provinces and even in Europe.

However, what worried Governor Vinieriel was the treacherous international situation in Europe and the severe external threats faced by the United Provinces.With the signing of the "Westphalian Peace Treaty" in 1648, large-scale wars in Europe have ceased, but sporadic regional conflicts and national disputes have never stopped.

In 1651, the British Parliament passed the new "Navigation Regulations", stipulating that all goods imported into the UK must be carried by British ships, or shipped to the UK by ships from the actual place of origin, which means that other countries with shipping capabilities are not allowed to intervene.The Netherlands has always been a trade intermediary country and the center of commodity distribution around the world because of its large number of merchant ships, large size, high efficiency, and perfect organization.Britain's new navigation regulations were clearly aimed at the Netherlands, attacking its intermediary role in Britain's trade with other countries.For this reason, the Netherlands negotiated with Britain many times and opposed the British navigation regulations, but they were all rejected. The contradiction between the two parties seemed to become irreconcilable.

According to recent news from Europe, the fleets of the Federation of Provinces and the United Kingdom clashed in the Strait of Dover. British warships blatantly attacked the merchant ships of the Federation of Provinces. The war between the two countries (the two sides officially declared war on July 7 of that year, the British Navy blocked the Strait of Dover and the North Sea, and began to intercept and attack Dutch fishing boats and merchant ships).

The first batch of ships returning to Europe this time has a total of 22 ships. After passing through Malacca, Ceylon and India, more merchant ships will join them, eventually forming a huge fleet.It is expected to arrive in Europe in May and June next year. At that time, it is very likely to face the attack of the British Navy, and it is not known whether the mainland will send a fleet to escort and protect it.You must know that the value of the goods carried by this fleet is more than 1000 million dong, and there must be no mistakes.Otherwise, once attacked by the British navy, the losses of the East India Company will be extremely heavy.

"Are the two accompanying Hanzhou merchant ships destined for India?" Viceroy Venirel turned his head and asked.

"Yes, Your Excellency." Rear Admiral Elliott Coburn, Batavia's naval commander, nodded and said, "They are loaded with valuable cargo and are going to India to trade with the Mughal Empire. Obtain amazing trade profits. It is reported that they are also planning to seek a new trade base in northern India, hoping to be closer to the Mughal Empire."

"Northern India?" Governor Vinirell had a hint of amusement on his face. "Surat, the stronghold of the British, seems to be also in northern India. Facing the competition from the Hanzhou people, what would they think?"

"The British should not be so easy to talk about. They are most concerned about establishing a closed, confrontational, and mutually exclusive trading system. Because the British insist that only by defeating their opponents can they make a fortune." Elliott Major General Cobain said: "In addition, with the arrogance of the British, they will definitely react against the challenge of the Hanzhou people. Well, I think there is a high probability that they will have face-to-face encounters." conflict."

"I remember that in February this year, the Hanzhou people proposed to establish a joint fleet with our East India Company to jointly maintain the maritime trade order from the Indian region to the Strait of Malacca. Your naval command used to occupy the scarce shipping capacity For reasons, I politely declined the proposal of the Hanzhou people." Governor Vinerell said: "Now, I think your naval command should seriously consider this proposal. The British are already our enemies. They are in the North Sea, in Dover The Er Strait, in the Mediterranean Sea, is at war with our United Provinces Republic. In this case, it is necessary for our East India Company to launch military operations against the British in the Indian region."

Although the Dutch East India Company is run by many big merchants in Amsterdam and other provinces, it is actually a company supported by the state. Their shareholders come from various provinces and classes. The Provincial Councils of the Republic, driven by interests, gave them all support within all possible limits.

Therefore, in the face of national crisis, the East India Company will also use all the resources and financial resources at its disposal to provide strong support to the United Provinces.At the beginning, when countering the Spanish invasion, the East India Company provided many of its armed merchant ships to the Dutch Navy and provided a large amount of financial funds to the Republic.

"Your Excellency, the Hanzhou people are deploying professional naval warships in India, and they require us to dispatch armed merchant ships with considerable combat effectiveness." Rear Admiral Elliott Coburn reminded: "Moreover, the formation of a combined fleet requires In the waters from India to the Strait of Malacca, regular combat cruises are carried out."

"Promise them." Governor Vinerell said: "You know, once we limit the trade actions of the British, the trade gap that will be vacated will naturally be shared by us and the Hanzhou people. In addition, in the process of carrying out the combat cruise It’s not impossible to ship goods, it’s nothing more than taking a little less. But if it is possible to completely disrupt the British trade activities in India and hit the British’s overseas interests, I think it’s worth paying some price.”
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December 12, Banten.

In 1552, Banten Sultan broke away from Cirebon Sultan and has since become an independent country.The first Sultan King Hanuddin began to build a new harbor city at the mouth of the Banten River.By the middle and late 16th century, Banten had become an important port comparable to Malacca.

Banten City is located in the middle of the harbor. There is a clear river in the city through which boats can sail into the center of the town.According to King Sultan's regulations, at that time, only residents of the country were allowed to live in the city, foreigners lived by the harbor in the north of the city, foreign residents of the true religion in the northeast, and foreign non-religious residents in the northwest.

In the late 16th century, the Banten Sultanate monopolized the pepper trade in the Lampung area at the southern tip of Sumatra, and had close contacts with Portugal, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, France and Denmark, and became an important commercial center for international trade in Southeast Asia.With the assistance of the British, Danish and Chinese, the Banten Sultanate traded with Persia, India, Siam, Annan, China and Japan.At that time, Banten Port was very prosperous, with developed trade, and European-style forts were built on the port, which were sufficient for defense.

After Sultan Ageng ascended the throne, in order to try his best to resist the invasion of the Dutch East India Company, he gradually established an elite small navy, which posed a great threat to the Dutch maritime activities.Sultan Ageng also obtained two European galleons from the British, broke the Dutch sea blockade, and sailed to India and the Malay Peninsula.

Four years ago (1648), the Banten Sultanate brought the Hanzhou people from the southern mainland into Banten, and leased a piece of land in the northwest corner to Hanzhou, trying to use their power to resist the erosion and aggression of the Dutch East India Company. suppress.

What is gratifying is that three years ago, the Hanzhou people really broke out with the Dutch.They showed strong combat power and once pushed the Dutch into a dilemma. Two consecutive naval battles caused the Dutch to lose more than 20 ships and several trading bases.The Banten Sultan Kingdom was quite moved by this, and sent people to Guangning Fort (now Cilegon City, northwest of Java, Indonesia), a stronghold leased by the Hanzhou people, to discuss the feasibility of attacking Batavia by land. A sexual plan to completely expel the Dutch from Java.

However, the war between the Hanzhou people and the Dutch East India Company ended suddenly at a very fast speed, and then the two sides concluded a peace agreement, which not only resumed the previous trade exchanges, but also made the economic ties between them closer and deeper. Let Wandan Sultan country stunned.

At the beginning, the Hanzhou people used the excuse of dealing with the Dutch East India Company to lease a piece of land along the northwest coast from the Banten Sultanate to establish a frontier attack base.Now that these two families have actually shake hands and made peace with each other, and they are still in full swing with each other, then the land leased to them may not be necessary anymore.

However, when the Regent Prime Minister Mongku Bumi was instructed by His Majesty Sultan to ask the Hanzhou people for this land, they were rejected by the Hanzhou people. They claimed that the lease contract with Banten Sultan State was for five years , so the land cannot be taken back in advance. Both parties must uphold the spirit of the contract and strictly implement the lease contract.

When King Ageng heard the answer from the Hanzhou people, his complexion suddenly changed. The hidden worries that had arisen when he rented the land were finally fulfilled. The Hanzhou people were going to be like the Dutch, planning to stay there and not leave!
Therefore, in order to find ways to drive away the Hanzhou people, the Banten Sultanate withdrew all the Banten people hired by Quangning Fort, and sent troops to block the roads with Quangning Fort, prohibiting the nearby people from communicating with Quangning Fort. Fort to carry out any economic and trade exchanges, trying to pass the material embargo on the Hanzhou people, so that they cannot maintain their survival in Guangning Fort.

However, after facing the material and personnel blockade of Banten Sudan, the Hanzhou people quickly migrated more than 200 Han people and native people from the mainland and Xuanhua Island (Timor Island), and settled in Guangning Fort. The transport ships imported a large amount of various living supplies from Dog Island and Batavia, and they just stuck there firmly, standing still, presumably to insist on the expiration of the lease contract.

Seeing that the material and personnel blockade could hardly achieve the goal of forcing back the Hanzhou people, the prime minister of Banten Sultan, Mongku Bumi, proposed to the Sultan King to move the British business house next to the port of Banten, and put Quanning Fort to A piece of coastal land more than ten miles to the south was leased to the British to re-establish a commercial hall, and to check and balance the Hanzhou people by "using the barbarians to control the barbarians".

Sultan Ageng was silent for a long time, and agreed to the suggestion of Prime Minister Mengku Bumi, and ordered someone to inform the British by the harbor to move the site at a later date.

"Gentlemen, Banten Sultanate's move is to use us to check and balance the expansion of Hanzhou's influence." Harris Burton, senior manager of the British East India Company's Banten Commercial Station, smiled wryly, "In this way, we It will definitely offend the Hanzhou people greatly and put the entire business house in danger. In addition, as far as I know, the place leased to us by the Banten people is completely incomparable to the Banten Port in terms of port conditions and trade environment."

"Mr. Burton, can we refuse to transfer the location of the trading house?" An employee of the trading house asked worriedly: "We came to this remote East Indies to seek trade opportunities and obtain commercial benefits. Just come to meddle in the power struggle in this region."

"That's right, Mr. Burton. The Wandan Commercial House has been established for nearly 30 years, and the natives will not easily say let us move the site and give up here completely. Then our loss will be great, and, what's more. It will arouse the hostility of the Han people and bring unforeseen danger to us all."

"The Prime Minister of Banten Sultan is very firm. They also promised to give us more shares in the pepper trade, and even provide us with free labor of 100 people to build a new business hall." Harris · Burton said: "They are very afraid of the existence of Hanzhou people, and they are worried that they will face a new Batavia crisis again."

"However, with our current strength, we are unable to deal with the threat of the Hanzhou people. In the past two years, the relationship between the Dutch and the Hanzhou people has become closer and closer. If we do not deal well, we are likely to face both of them Moreover, we are already in a state of war with the Dutch in Europe. Maybe the Dutch have already begun to target us and have drawn up an attack plan. Therefore, under such circumstances, we can no longer offend the Han Chinese Mr. Burton, we must politely decline the request of the Banten people.”

"Yes, on the eve of Christmas, all of us were really worried when we learned this news." Harris Burton nodded and said: "We can delay the request of the Banten people first, because the business hall moved We need to report to the headquarters in Surat, India, and we even need to let the gentlemen in London know about it. It may take a few years for the discussion and approval of the relocation of the business hall."

(End of this chapter)