prosperous age

In response to Wei Guangde's question, Zhang Ji immediately told him in detail the origins of those Western women that he had heard from Yu Dayou.

"Master, I asked, this is what happened.

In Libya, there are many black people like those you just mentioned. They are very strong and good at farm work.

Therefore, the Portuguese and Spanish tried every means to capture black people from Libya and sell them.

But in Libya, a country close to the Mediterranean, many people also cross the sea to Europe to plunder people for trafficking."

Soon, Wei Guangde learned from Zhang Ji about another business that was not widely circulated in later generations but was also very profitable in that era, that is, the "white slave trade."

In addition to the well-known black slave trade, there was actually a very prosperous white slave trade at the same time.

From the 15th to the 17th century, along with the great geographical discoveries and primitive accumulation of capitalism, Europeans' pursuit of rich mineral resources, cheap labor and stable places to sell their products gradually became their main driving force for opening up overseas markets.

As black people possess strong physiques and endurance, how could the "black hands" of European colonists let go of such God-given free labor?

Therefore, starting from the 15th century, Portugal and Spain in Europe began the evil slave trade, and a large number of black people were plundered by European colonists and became labor tools at the bottom of society.

From the late 16th century to the early 17th century, the slave trade entered its heyday. Large numbers of slaves were continuously imported into plantations in Europe and the United States with Fort San Miguel as a transit base, where they were engaged in the heaviest physical labor.

These black slaves had no freedom and no protection of their personal rights. In the white plantations, in addition to working day and night, they had to wear shackles and chains to prevent them from escaping.

However, as the black slave trade flourished around the world, the white slave trade also became a corresponding evil trade that was booming.

From the 16th to the 17th century, the Mongol army, which emerged on the Mongolian Plateau, marched into Europe with great force. With the rise of the Mongol Empire, the Black Death was also introduced to Europe.

As a fortress connecting the East and the West, the Ottoman Empire was the first to become the hardest hit area by the spread of the Black Death. Due to the widespread infection of the Black Death, a large number of people in the entire Ottoman Empire died.

The Ottoman Empire was experiencing a sharp decline in population, and under the pressure of rigid demand for labor, the Ottoman Sultan Selim I supported and encouraged the Moors and Turks in North Africa. With the brothers Uruz Reis and Shizil Reis as the core, a feared Barbary pirate group was quickly formed in North Africa.

By 1500, with the support of the Ottoman Empire, the Reis brothers acquired the Island of Djerba as a pirate base. In the following 10 years, the powerful Barbary pirate group, led by Uruzi Reis, swept through Algiers and established the Barbary Kingdom.

Although the Barbary pirates established a decent political system, in essence, they were still engaged in the evil activities of sea robbery and human trafficking. Therefore, the Barbary Kingdom was not a political organization in the real sense.

Shortly after the establishment of the Barbary Kingdom, with the strong support of the Ottoman Empire, the Barbary pirate group possessed advanced weapons and sufficient logistical supplies.

They followed the lead of the Ottoman Empire and accepted the Ottoman Sultan's orders to plunder white slaves. They constantly harassed and robbed Western European countries, and sold the looted white people to the Ottoman Empire and Arabs.

According to incomplete statistics, from the 16th to the 19th century, an average of 5000 white slaves from Europe or America were abducted to North Africa every year. During the three-century-long white trade plundering war, more than one million white people became private property of the Barbary pirates.

The eight Western female slaves that Yu Dayou bought in Arab countries were, of course, the women captured by the Barbary pirates from robbed merchant ships or during expeditions to towns and villages on the southern coast of Europe.

In the Middle Ages, Europeans organized many Crusades and plundered the prosperous eastern coast of the Mediterranean.

During the Crusades, Europeans enslaved and persecuted local Muslims, plundering their wealth and population. However, the rich cultural texts preserved by the Arabs flowed back to Europe, which prompted the European Renaissance.

The evil deeds committed by European Christians in the Middle Ages were retaliated by the Ottoman Empire at the end of the Middle Ages.

With the strong support of the Ottoman Empire, the Barbary pirate group and the Muslims who escaped from Spain formed the best partners. With the help of Muslims who were familiar with the terrain and inside information of Europe, almost the entire western Mediterranean coast including Spain and Italy became the pirates' back garden.

Hundreds of years ago, these Muslims took advantage of the poverty and backwardness of European countries, sailed north from North Africa, and established the Visigothic Kingdom by repelling the barbarians on the north shore of Radha.

What surprised them was that in just seven years they conquered the entire Iberian Peninsula and reached the present-day southern France north of the Pyrenees.

Of course, with the establishment of Spain, these Muslims were naturally cleansed by the Christians.

In fact, when Britain and Spain were fighting a naval battle over pirates, the main force of the Spanish navy was still in the Mediterranean to guard against the Barbary pirates and the Ottoman Turkish navy.

Of course, Zhang Ji did not explain it in such detail, but Yu Dayou still knew roughly that the Ottoman Empire and the Barbary pirates were the most powerful maritime military forces in the Mediterranean region after all.

Of course, the Spanish Navy was not left behind.

The legend of the Barbary pirates actually continued until the end of the 18th century, when the United States gained independence from Britain.

The powerful United States of later generations once negotiated with these North African pirates, hoping that they would show leniency to their merchant ships and pay a hefty ransom every year for this.

During this period, as the navies of Britain, the Netherlands, France and Spain grew stronger, the Barbary pirates dared not act rashly, and their looting was replaced by collecting "tolls".

The reason for this change is also related to the formalization of the Barbary pirates.

In fact, relying on the wealth they plundered, the pirates in North Africa were basically independent. They were centered in cities such as Algiers and Tripoli, and had the backing of the Sudanese government, so they could deal with Europe.

At that time in the Mediterranean, there were only two countries that were completely free from the disturbance of pirates, namely the British Empire and the French Empire.

The reason is simple: the army is strong and the horses are powerful.

According to Zhang Ji, Portugal and Spain plundered people from Libya and sold them to the west, while the people in northern Livia also looted people from the southern coast of Europe and sold them to the east.

Yu Dayou docked at the port of an Arab country and contacted them. He also picked out some good-looking white female slaves in the market and brought them back to the Ming Dynasty as local specialties and gifts.

Well, many Ming officials were involved in this trade, and brought back quite a few white female slaves.

Wei Guangde figured out the origin of the local specialty, rubbed his chin and said, "Okay, send someone to contact him and ask him to come to the house over there tomorrow afternoon. I have something to tell him."

Wei Guangde's original intention was to ask Yu Dayou to take the time to arrange a squadron to tentatively head to North America to find a route.

Through the narration of Yu Dayou and Drake, Wei Guangde had roughly figured out the route across the Pacific Ocean.

Although it was not specific enough, he already knew roughly that from Ming Dynasty to America, he should sail as north as possible and find the route along the North Pacific.

The return route is near the equator, and following the monsoon down you can reach the South Pacific.

This route is actually the Manila Galleon Route.

Knowing this route, Wei Guangde was of course eager to intervene in the affairs of America. Since the imperial court could not do it, he contacted some powerful people in the Ming Dynasty to manage America together.

He set his target on the area from northern United States to Canada in later generations. This area had vast land, sparse population, and large tracts of forest, which was actually more suitable for Han people to live in.

As for going south, there is a high possibility of conflict with the Spaniards in America, so Wei Guangde is more cautious about this.

Of course, whether or not to tie the Ming Empire to this American chariot in the end depends on the situation. It can only be said that Wei Guangde finds this era more and more interesting, and the Ming Dynasty has missed too many regrets without realizing it.

His arrival may be to make up for these regrets.

It's a pity that he is not a professional. If he had more abundant knowledge of science, he might be able to invent epoch-making firearms.

In this era, as long as you can make a primer, such firearms will be invincible in land battles.

Even if the Ming soldiers are not good at close combat, they have a large population.

Relying on the population advantage alone, the Ming army was able to defeat several European countries and establish the Han Chinese Empire.

Pity.

When Wei Guangde returned to the backyard bedroom with a heavy heart, Xu Jianglan noticed that Wei Guangde was abnormal and kindly advised him.

In her impression, the Aneliya delegation must have caused a lot of trouble for Wei Guangde, which is why it made her master so embarrassed.

"Nothing, nothing."

Wei Guangde took the opportunity to talk about some unimportant things, mainly the differences between the ideas of the three European countries and the current foreign policy of the Ming court.

"Not only do they not want to become a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, but they also want to get along with the Ming Dynasty on an equal footing. What gives them the right to do so?"

When Xu Jianglan heard the three European countries' plan, she immediately said in dissatisfaction, "Master, let's ignore them and just return those things to them. They are not that rare."

Wei Guangde glanced at the beautiful Xu Jianglan, thought about it and explained: "The self-ringing clock and the pocket watch are indeed the skills of Europeans. Our Ming Dynasty craftsmen are not able to make them now.

I plan to speak for them when the cabinet discusses it, and also send people to Europe to visit their country and learn these skills.

You may not know this, but despite the small size of the three countries, they all have large overseas colonies. "

“What is a colony?”

Xu Jianglan asked curiously.

As for the colonies occupied by Portugal in Africa, which the Ming Dynasty called Libya, Yu Dayou believed that they were Portuguese territory and were not considered as colonies.

In this era, this concept itself does not exist.

A colony refers to a country or region that is subject to economic exploitation, cultural invasion and political enslavement by the colonial power. Its original meaning was to immigrate and cultivate wasteland, which could be used as a trade outpost or military base. Later, it referred to an immigrant settlement established by a country in the areas it conquered to acquire new resources for the colonial power.

Wei Guangde explained that the Portuguese established a stronghold near the estuary on the west coast of Libya and plundered the local population and resources, saying that it was a colony.

"Master, then are Luzon and Old Port, which you asked Admiral Yu to occupy, considered colonies?"

Xu Jianglan reacted immediately and even asked whether the overseas enclaves established by the Ming Dynasty could be considered colonization.

"Not really. They were originally vassal states of the Ming Dynasty. If they were not, that would be called colonization."

Wei Guangde denied it immediately.

That was the extent of the lady’s understanding of this new word.

Nothing happened that night. The next day, after Wei Guangde got up, he lingered in the mansion until after lunch before going out and going directly to the house in Chongbeifang.

At the gate, Wei Guangde saw a group of soldiers waiting on the side. He knew that Yu Dayou had arrived early.

As soon as I entered the house, I saw Yu Dayou coming over to pay his respects.

"Master Yu, you're welcome. Let's talk inside."

He took Yu Dayou into the main hall and asked him to sit down. After the servant brought him tea, Wei Guangde smiled and said, "Uncle Yu is very dishonest. I heard that you bought a lot of female slaves in Daqin."

In private occasions, Wei Guangde no longer called him Lord Yu or Admiral Yu, as that was just for show to outsiders.

"Shan Dai, this trip to the West has broadened my horizons. They don't prohibit human trafficking like we do. It's almost open over there.

Several city-states we came into contact with had areas in their markets dedicated to the slave trade, where both black and white slaves were traded.

For work, choose the strong Kunlun slaves, and for other needs, you can choose the white slaves.

It was because they thought that there were few white slaves in the Ming Dynasty that they bought some, thinking of bringing them back as gifts."

Although he had not yet seen the white female slave sent by Yu Dayou, Wei Guangde still had some expectations.

After hearing the explanation, he just laughed and then got down to business: "Uncle Yu, do you know how to get to the east if our Ming ships are looking for the place the Spanish call the New World?"

Upon hearing this, Yu Dayou nodded slightly, although his expression was a little unnatural.

He thought Wei Guangde had assigned him another task and wanted him to visit the American continent.

He is old now and really doesn't want to go out to sea on business for many years.

However, Wei Guangde's next words naturally dispelled his concerns.

"Uncle Yu, find a few reliable people who are familiar with sailing, and use new-style gunboats and tribute ships as the main means to find a route to the New World.

This time, the East China Sea Navy should have entered the North Sea, first went to Nurgan City, and then used that as a starting point to find a route eastward.

However, taking into account the East China Sea Fleet's long-term lack of navigation experience, it would be a bit of a stretch for them to head north to find the Nurgan City waterway, so I will not give the task to them, but let the South China Sea Fleet take charge instead.

Find it and make detailed records, especially the detailed arrangements of the Spanish on the west coast of the New World."

Wei Guangde briefly introduced America, emphasizing that the northern part of America might be a place that the Spaniards had never set foot in.

Yu Dayou, who was familiar with military affairs, naturally understood immediately. He did not want to have a conflict with the Spaniards in the New World so soon, so he nodded and agreed immediately. (End of this chapter)