Lu Ming

Chapter 272 The choice of the Spaniards
Back to the end of May.At that time, the Spaniard encountered the Yuandou on the way of the Alicante departing from Taipei, and was hijacked to Dayuan. Finally, he was forcibly stuffed with some cargo and served as a messenger.

And when Ensign Diego Sandoval sailed back to Manila in early June, it immediately caused a sensation.

Governor Juan Nino de Tabora, after happily reading the diplomatic documents, watched the part-time mason Andrés Iniesta Jr.'s performance of plastering red bricks and cement, and finally he decided to put these lines Neat high-quality red bricks and magic cement are used in the newly built battery in Manila.

As for the raw silk, silk, velvet and other daily necessities including glass and porcelain, they were quickly divided up by merchants, nobles and churches in Manila.

As for the Visayan prisoners who were held in prisons and the beggars, vagabonds, and drunks in the city, the days suddenly became sad recently: the sheriff and his guards became just and strict overnight, and many Homeless people without family members who came to pay premiums started disappearing.

Although the Governor is still negotiating with the officials, the merchants with a keen sense of smell have already begun to organize the supply of goods——When Second Lieutenant Diego Sandoval told the trade conditions of the crossing country at the big man's banquet, he was on the spot There are a lot of people who think of the nearly free beggars and Visayan prisoners.

The Lord's people have no psychological barriers to turning the rebellious Visayans and Malays into slaves. Manila has imported a lot of black slaves. Now it is God's will to export some yellow slaves. Tagalog will do just fine.

And when the merchants were actively organizing "supply sources", after two rounds of short meetings, Governor Juan not only fully responded to the trade requirements of the officials, he also sent a young special envoy——with himself Viscount Juan with oblique kinship.

There's a reason the Spaniards were so "reactive".

Looking at these colonial forces that have gained a foothold in East Asia, if those less popular roles are removed, such as the Danish East India Company, then among the existing top three of the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain, only the Spaniards can get along well. worst.

In fact, even the British, who are still very weak at the moment, still show great vitality in colonization and trade.

However, the Spaniard's territory was always in danger.

The danger does not come from artillery and warships, but from the trade pattern - the Spaniards who have long lost their pioneering spirit and are used to trading with silver have lost their own hematopoietic mechanism and have become porters of precious metals .

It is different from the UK and the Netherlands, which start businesses and have their own core competitiveness.The Spaniards are now like the kind of cheating rich second generation. They only take money from their pockets to spend, but they have no ability to invest and make money themselves.

However, the good old days are gone forever. The silver austerity in Europe caused by the 30-year war, and the outrageous military expenditure of the Habsburg dynasty, all of which exposed the naked Spaniards: the silver dug out from South America every year is not even enough to pay the loans of those greedy businessmen Interest.

In this situation, it is not surprising that Spain's colonies around the world began to shrink day by day. Dad had no money in his pocket, and the second generation naturally had a hard time.

Pie faces even passed this gene perfectly to their offspring: Venezuela.

Venezuela, whose national income once ranked among the top ten in the world, would rather provide welfare to the whole people than engage in some basic industries when it was rich. Then when the oil price fell, the inflation rate was 80000%. Looking at history, only Zimbabwe can compare. An empty space is not enough.

In short, a country without self-hematopoietic ability is the porter of nature, whether it is silver or oil.Once the international situation changes, they are the first to kneel.

The Philippines in the 17th century was no exception: the Dutch had established their own trade channels and distribution networks in East Asia with the spices from the Spice Islands as the core, and various triangular trades were flourishing.

However, the Spaniards are now living more and more: with the reduction of royal subsidies, the "China-Mexico" middleman trade that Manila has been relying on for a living is also shrinking; the Spaniards are competing with other colonists. become increasingly disadvantaged.

And at this time, there was a thunder on the sunny day: Dad is here.

All the trade terms proposed by the crossing people are the most urgent needs at the moment in the eyes of the Spaniards, and there is no reason to refuse them.As for the small castle, it's a joke, the Iberian people are talking about the colony, and the pinpoint-sized castle is not within the consideration of gentlemen.

In fact, once enough goods from the Ming Dynasty were obtained from the officials, the foundation of Taipei itself would lose its meaning: Wasn’t the reason why Taipei was built in the first place to attract merchants from the Ming Dynasty?
In this case, a highly efficient operation rarely seen by the Spaniards began.Regardless of the March 21th and [-]st in Manila, the high-level officials who had long been anxious about the strategic situation set off two merchant ships loaded with slaves at an extremely fast speed and went straight to Dayuan.

You know, Governor Juan at this time is still negotiating with various people about the license, share and tax amount of the slave trade
The trade fleet was captained by Second Lieutenant Diego Sandoval, an "old friend of the crossing people". The passengers on board included no fewer than 10 merchant teams, 400 slaves used to test the waters, and of course, Mr. Special Envoy .

The cargo on the ship was prepared according to the trade list given by the public: a large amount of Philippine rice and a small amount of native products similar to abaca and Indian cotton.Of course, the most important silver coins must not be missing.

A week later, the fleet arrived at Taijiang Wharf smoothly.The straight-line distance between Manila and Tainan is only 950 kilometers. If the wind is favorable, it will only take a week at most.

After coming to Dayuan, everything did not disappoint the big cake faces.The magical steel machines, the beautiful and tidy streets and buildings prove that Ensign Diego wasn't lying when he was in Manila.

The merchants who had always held a skeptical attitude couldn't help but be ecstatic after seeing all kinds of industrial products produced by the crossover crowd.

In fact, the most exciting moment for the insightful people in the fleet was the moment when the slaves were successfully sold: From this moment on, Manila finally got rid of its status as an empty middleman, just like the Dutch have spices , The Spaniards now also have an inexhaustible "fist product", which is more important than anything else.

(End of this chapter)