Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1269 Escorting the Storm ([-])

Let's go back in time a little.

In early September 1660, a huge fleet of fifty ships (total tonnage exceeding 9 tons) set off from Zhenhai Port Naval Base.On this day, they took advantage of the rare southeast wind in this season and formed a relatively neat formation on the open sea - the merchant ship was in the middle, the escort ships were divided around, and the three supply ships were at the end - against the weak Brazilian warm current ( At this time, the current speed is only about 0.5 knots), slowly sailing north along the coast of Brazil.

A few days later, they entered the Brazilian Sea Basin shrouded in southeast trade winds near Rio de Janeiro, and then the speed of the entire fleet gradually increased, reaching 3-4 knots. Not bad.

On October 10, the huge convoy sailed past Cape San Roque in turn, and was about to leave the area shrouded in southeast trade winds, cross the equator and enter the Guyana Sea Basin shrouded in northeast trade winds.When they arrived here, they could supply a little fresh water at the Dutch colony. However, considering the extremely large fleet size and the small scale of the Dutch, British, and French colonies, the supplies were scattered and chaotic.

On October 10th, the boat group safely sailed into the port of San Juan, Puerto Rico. While avoiding a stormy weather, they also took a good rest for a few days. It’s been almost two months since they came out, and everyone hasn’t been serious yet. After resting on the ground, the health of many crew members is very problematic. The captain of the "East Coast Doctrine" battleship and Lieutenant Commander Ding Wei sent people to count and found that about 30-10% of the sailors were sick to varying degrees. Four or five days' rest at the port of San Juan was therefore ordered.

Since the east coast navy and army stationed in San Juan Port, this small port that was not very prosperous has ushered in a lot of development.The demand for meat, seafood, gunpowder, artillery shells and other commodities gave birth to various industries in this port, and continued to attract many handicraftsmen and farmers from the Old World to settle here, which strongly promoted the development of the city.In addition, due to the presence of warships and the army on the east coast (the fourth mixed battalion headquarters is located here), the security conditions of this port have also been greatly improved, so it has attracted the attention of some Spanish progressive nobles and businessmen, and then began to try Investing in plantations of cash crops -- such as tobacco, sugar cane, coffee, etc. -- further increased the city's population.

At present, the city has more than [-] white (mainly Spaniards, Italians) residents, as well as a larger number of slave groups, and the city's economy has also embarked on a virtuous circle. Selling food and ammunition, and exporting tobacco, sugar, and coffee to the Old Continent made a lot of money, and it has indeed become a positive example of the development of the Caribbean Sea.

The arrival of the huge escort convoy caused a sensation in the port of San Juan. After all, a shipping tonnage of 1 tons is not a small number in any country in the mainland, let alone the Caribbean Sea?You must know that even the annual Flota Treasure Fleet usually transports more than [-] tons, which is far from the size of the people on the east coast this time.

Major Ding Wei, who led the team, was delighted that the navy's famous three-deck battleship "Executive Committee" was currently moored in the port for rest.This huge warship with a displacement of 1730 tons is the most powerful warship on the east coast. It is currently stationed in the Caribbean Sea to deter the British Penn Squadron in Jamaica, so that it will not dare to think badly.

However, the Payne Squadron, which has been intimidated by the "Executive Committee" for so long (let's think so...), can probably breathe a sigh of relief, because this time Major Ding Wei carried the order of the military with him, that is, they Once the "Executive Committee" is encountered, it will be recruited into the escort fleet to increase the strength of the escort warships.After all, the combat force they dispatched this time is only three battleships, ten escort gunboats, two supply ships, and one coal carrier, but there are more than [-] transport ships that need to be escorted, so the pressure is still quite high. Therefore, if there is a powerful "Executive Committee" to help, then the danger of this escort operation will not be so great.

Major Huang Yang, the captain of the "Executive Committee", accepted this order, and said that the ship will be replenished and repaired as soon as possible, and in a few days, it will be able to set off for the Old Continent with the entire escort fleet to ensure this important escort Actions do not go wrong.

On November 1660, 11, several transport ships of the Caribbean Shipping Company will be escorted by two decommissioned escort gunships (also belonging to the Air Canada Company), and will take the lead in leaving the port to unload at Xinjing Port on the North American continent. More than 2 officers and soldiers of the Black Eight Banners and their family members will stop in Havana for a short day on the way, and deliver some goods to the local agents who have worked so hard to develop in the East Coast.

It is said that Air Canada has been operating the Caribbean Sea for so long, and it has made some achievements. For example, their penetration in various trading ports has deepened, and the number and energy of cargo agents have also increased. There are still not many people who can't make it through-trade profits have also increased steadily, which is not only due to the influence of the army and navy's continued military presence in the Caribbean Sea, but also the help of "strategic partners" such as the United States and the Netherlands. The country's intertwined relations in the New World played a big role in gradually gaining a firm foothold and opening up the market for the people on the east coast. Therefore, they also took their own piece of the big cake of the New Spain market as a matter of course.

At present, there are more than [-] Black Banners and their families living in Xinjing and Fengtian under the jurisdiction of the Free State. In terms of personnel transportation quotas for the Black Eight Banners, this number is still larger-the economy is dominated by logging and grain cultivation.Anyway, these Xhosa blacks originally planted sorghum, peanuts, sesame, watermelon and other crops in South Africa and raised livestock in captivity. They just resumed their old business in North America, and they are not unfamiliar at all.From this point of view, they are much better than their close relatives who are still in the hunting and gathering stage. You must know that before the people on the east coast discovered them, they could already make copperware, make pottery, and grow sorghum Raising cattle and sheep in captivity has become the eve of a de facto slave society.

As another group closely related to trade and culture on the east coast, the appearance of Indian settlements has also changed in recent years.Especially the Mobiles, Natchezs, Choctaws and other tribes, they have begun to export a small amount of oak planks, cotton, tobacco, flax and furs to the East Coast, by exporting these things first to the Free State, and then Resold to Air Canada by East Coast businessmen active in the Free State.

Among them, the group of merchants headed by the Liang brothers (sons of Liang Xiangjian) was extremely active, especially Liang Zan, a guy of yellow and black mixed blood, who was very powerful in Fengtian City. Not only did he have three or four hundred desperadoes, he even A cavalry team of more than fifty people was formed.Because of his force and background, even the Mo family in Xinjing tried to appease him. According to the suggestions of some scholars of the Ming Dynasty who were exiled here—and have been successfully recruited as officials by the Mo family in Xinjing— Liang Zan was appointed as a defense envoy along the way, and was even given the actual position of commander of the Ma Bujun. It is said that a small profit of 2 yuan a year is not a problem.

Closer to home, after the Indians continued to send many batches of international students to study on the east coast and received some technical assistance from the east coast people in agriculture, the agricultural output of some tribes has increased to a certain extent, and the frequency of using agricultural tools has also greatly increased , the progress of civilization is indeed solid, and this also means that they can feed more people in the future - of course, the first thing they need to solve is the epidemic of diseases caused by contact with the outside world. At present, the medical team sent by the east coast is solving the problem, but it seems that the effect is not great. The Indian population is still declining slowly, and it is not known when it will bottom out.

Fortunately, they still have time. Apart from the people from the east coast, there are only a few Spanish colonists far away. They will not be able to threaten them in the short term, so they still have plenty of time to recover. It is not a bad thing for people on the east coast to increase population, develop production, and then evolve a certain strength against foreign colonists.

Moreover, what is beneficial to them is that the local executive committee on the east coast has always held a supportive attitude towards them.For example, a large amount of oak imported from the Free State and Indian territories (mainly used for shipbuilding, and a small part for furniture and tools) is one of the supports. After all, whether it is New China or southern Chile, there are still a lot of wood suitable for shipbuilding. , Who do the major shipyards in China buy from? Why don’t they buy it from your Free State?

In addition to oak, low-grade fibers such as flax (rope, sacks, and sackcloth) are also available. It is not impossible to grow them in the east coast, but the current policy guidance is to import more from the Free State; tobacco, cotton, and fur also have a part of the share. Imports from North America are undoubtedly supportive policies in disguise, allowing them to have sufficient economic strength to do what they want to do—that is, to continue to expand and merge outwards, whether through force or economic means.

Therefore, after Air Canada entered the Caribbean strongly, the situation on the North American continent has actually undergone slight but profound changes, and it is hard to say where it will go in the future.But one thing is for sure, with all kinds of people—such as blacks, yellows, whites, and Indians—all kinds of cultures and forces intervening one after another, it is really doubtful whether eastern North America can form a unified country .In other words, it may be difficult for a future imperialist country to serve as the world's police on this continent. Perhaps this is one of the biggest goals of the people on the east coast.

On November 11, the patrol boats of the Windward Fleet also sailed into the harbor for replenishment.The size of this fleet has now been slightly expanded, and currently has a total of eight ships of various types. Although they have not yet dared to match the British, they are patrolling the offshore waters and cracking down on pirates and smuggling ships—in order to encourage them to fight against pirates and smuggling Well, the East Coast Navy even sold some old artillery to them at half price-it's still not a problem.At present, the people on the east coast are trying to persuade the Kingdom of Spain to continue to invest in the Windward Fleet and enter more new ships. If not, investing in the Windward Fleet is naturally even more distant.

However, someone from the East Coast Admiralty also proposed to allocate some warships to join the Windward Fleet and cooperate with the Spaniards to form a joint fleet to patrol the Caribbean Sea to protect their commercial and political interests.It's just that the difficulty of this work seems to be equally great, and there is still a long way to go before it can be successful. The obstacles include breaking the social gap and distrust between the two sides, and there are also economic factors. Factors, in short, very troublesome.

On November 1660, 11, after a small number of seriously ill crew members were left in San Juan Port to recuperate, the huge east coast convoy set sail again. Heading toward the east coast of North America. On November 5, after obtaining the permission of the officials of the West India Company, the convoy anchored in the still water of New Amsterdam Harbor, and then the ships went to the dock in batches for replenishment.The residents of New Amsterdam, who saw such a large-scale fleet for the first time in history, were very pleasantly surprised. They sold their treasured cattle and sheep, eggs, fruits and vegetables, wine, cheese and flour to the people on the east coast. I also cheered up and repaired some ships with problems with the boards or canvas, and made a lot of money.

Several merchant ships belonging to the West India Company left the convoy at this time, because their destination was the New Netherlands.As for the other two **** merchant ships, their destination was the port of Livorno, so they had to follow the people on the east coast to cut through the waves and make a detour to the Mediterranean Sea.

On November 11th, after looking at the rich New Netherland for a long time, the whole fleet set sail again, sailing towards the old continent at a relatively high speed of 25-4 knots, following the southwest wind and the warm North Atlantic current.

On the last day of 1660, this huge fleet arrived at the Gulf of Brest on the west side of the Brittany Peninsula in France. After sending people to negotiate, a group of French officials with a big heart actually allowed the ships on the east coast to divide into batches. To enter the port for replenishment, the premise is to pay a certain fee.In addition, Major Ding Wei, who led the team, also noticed that many Frenchmen on the shore were pointing at this huge fleet, as if surprised by its size; there were also some small French sampans cruising slowly in the offshore , and even some French peddlers who came to sell drinking water in small boats did not seem real to the people on the east coast. I am afraid that there are many French naval officers among these people.

When the convoy sails here, the troops will be divided. Seven of the transport ships will leave the main force and go to the ports of the United Provinces such as Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Vlissingen, Holen, and Enkhuizen. Three transport ships will go to Riga. , Königsberg and Windau.As for the remaining large troops, they will go south along the Bay of Biscay, bypass Portugal, enter the Mediterranean Sea, and then go to Italy and Ottoman ports in batches.

(End of this chapter)