Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1353 Sudden Change

Cornelis Bickel stared in amazement at the two gas lamps above the fireplace in the house. The brightness of these two lamps surpassed all the oil lamps and candles he had seen in his life, and the flames were bright and stable, far from ordinary Cornelis couldn't help but sigh: I don't know what people on the east coast have installed in their minds. Over the years, they have continuously invented many new things, leaving the whole world far behind. Did they really give their souls to the devil?

For example, Cornelis knew that when the 17-member committee of the East India Company first learned that malaria was transmitted by mosquitoes, it was extremely surprised, because at that time the whole of Europe agreed with the Italians, that is, malaria in tropical areas The reason why it is so powerful is probably because the air is full of poisonous gas (in fact, China was similar at that time, the so-called miasma and epidemic land).As a result, this conclusion has now been overturned by intermittent news from the east coast. The East India Company has hung gauze nets in the residences of senior officials in the city of Batavia, and at the same time used herbs to repel mosquitoes. As expected, the incidence rate has dropped. Quite a few, which proves the authenticity of what the people on the east coast said from the side.

Another example, according to some East Coast medical knowledge they have collected through painstaking efforts, it is known that scurvy is actually caused by the deficiency of a substance called "vitamin C".They don't know what vitamin C is, but they also learned that eating vegetables and fruits can supplement vitamin C and prevent the occurrence of scurvy. This is why people on the east coast set up supply ports at intervals on the route, and widely You can see it when you grow vegetables and fruits.No wonder the death rate of their sailors is so low. It turns out that the problem has always been here-poor East India Company used to be proud that their crews could not disembark for six months. Terrible practice!

Of course, the east coast people brought more than these to the United Provinces and even the old continent. The large amount of hydraulic machinery equipment, parts, steel bars, soda ash, hardware tools and other commodities they exported objectively increased the productivity of the old continent. , their widely used steam engines and flying scissor ships have brought great inspiration to scientists in the Old World, and their mathematical knowledge, medical knowledge, mechanical knowledge, astronomical knowledge, etc. have become the guides of the Old World. Beacon, many countries want to obtain this kind of valuable information at all costs. It is not an exaggeration to say that the country on the east coast is the lighthouse of the civilized world, because their enlightenment to this world is really great.

The appearance of this gas lamp now made Cornelis feel extremely envious and longing. There is such a good thing?If some of these lamps are installed in every plantation—I heard that the cost is also very cheap, which is very important, which means that it can be promoted on a large scale—wouldn’t the working efficiency of the slaves be greatly improved?Can investors' dividends be greatly increased?This is a great invention that changed the world!In the future, you must ask the people on the east coast. I heard that a company called the East Coast Gas Company is responsible for installing gas lamps. You can try to deal with them.

Thinking of this, Cornelis withdrew his gaze from the two gas lamps, and still made up his mind to contact more people on the east coast and import more equipment (preferably equipment with technical enlightenment significance). The long-term benefits of the Indian company and even the United Provinces—well, if I say this, isn't my attitude a little cold a few days ago?Fortunately, I haven't had time to meet their top official in the diplomatic field, Mr. Mo San. I heard that he was recently discussing the details of the border demarcation and exploration between the two countries with the Spanish envoy, and I still have time to adjust my posture.

Although the West India Company recently lost the big burden of Recife-although it lost an important sugar production area, it also blocked a huge blood loss-and shifted its business focus to the Caribbean and West Africa, focusing on slaves , ivory and gold trades, and with a slight change of breath, the financial situation was finally not so bad.But it's really hard to say how long this good year of prosperity can last. Maybe one day, because of some shitty reasons, the slaves or the source of gold will be lost, or it will be caught in a war with which country?In that case, the company may be on the verge of bankruptcy again. Therefore, it is necessary to maintain a certain degree of good relationship with the people on the east coast, and it is not good to be arrogant. After all, in the New Spain trade market, if they want to sell some daily necessities (often The east coast does not produce or the production is low), and it still has to rely on the pagan countries of this New World.

Cornelis Bickel, the special envoy of the Dutch West India Company, finally met with Mr. Mo San, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the East Coast Republic of China in late October, and began to carefully discuss the details of opening a sugarcane plantation in the Hue area.Prior to this, Mo San had just finished the meeting with Mr. Charles of the Golden Deer Shop, and had consultations with the British on some issues of concern to both parties. A number of British troop carriers were intercepted. The ships were full of more than 10 British Army soldiers. It is said that they used to be the troops of Colonel Fox, who was a boiler worker. This honor can be seen, who made the army always rebel and cut off the king's head) was sent to faraway Brazil as cannon fodder in exchange for some commercial benefits.

These ships were escorted to the east coast port at the first time, and after interrogation by the National Intelligence Agency, it was announced that the ships could leave the port. However, the more than 800 soldiers will be detained indefinitely, pending negotiation between the two governments.As the highest level of British people on the East Coast, Mr. Charles, who runs the Golden Deer Shop, was immediately called to the East Coast Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he was questioned by Foreign Minister Mo San and asked them to show the British government's Attitude, that is, if they decided to join the Portuguese side in this war, then he would not mind writing a declaration of war and submitting it to London now.

Mr. Charles was a little speechless about this. In fact, he had just learned that London had sent an army to Brazil at the invitation of Lisbon. Not on the military register, most of them were hired by Portugal and did not represent the position of the British government.

Mo San was noncommittal to Mr. Charles' remarks, but he said that since the army of more than 800 people was sent to the New World in the form of civilian mercenaries, the East Coast government will forcefully buy out their contracts, and then send them to the New World. It was reorganized and sent to the overseas colonies to serve the interests of the East Coast, and Mr. Charles could only be silent about it.

And after beating the Englishman again, and asking Mr. Charles to hand over some diplomatic letters to London, Mo San let the ignorant English businessman go, drove to the Dongfang Hotel, and met the Dutchman who had been waiting for a long time. Cornelis, envoy of the West India Company, conducts consultations.

Mo San has just listened to the reports of the people below, and learned that the appetite of the West India Company is still quite large, because they don't want to hand over the sugar they squeezed to the people on the east coast for refining, but want to take it directly to Amsterdam for refining ;At the same time, they also demanded a reduction in the tax rate of sugar cane exported to the United Provinces, which is similar to the previous one. Slaves were the main labor force of the plantations, which undoubtedly contradicted the policy of the people on the east coast, and the east coast did not allow any private enterprises to hire black laborers.

Therefore, generally speaking, the differences between the two parties are quite large, but Mo San does not think that if they do not agree to these demands, the Dutch will not come to open plantations.These people are not ordinary businessmen. Although their vision cannot be compared with the east coast, they are all first-class. The Dutch are actually very clear about the situation in Guyana, and they might fight one day. After all The influence of the local British is still quite strong, and the population also accounts for the majority.Therefore, it is actually a good choice to open a "sub-base" on the east coast as another source of sugar. Although people on the east coast have to pay land rent, sugar has to be refined by them, and exports have to pay customs duties. But the victory here lies in stability. Would the British dare to fight the East Coast again when they were at war with the United Provinces?They are crazy!So, Mo San reckoned that although the Dutch were dissatisfied with the conditions, they were not optimistic about the conditions, and their faces were not worried, but they would eventually open plantations here. Where do people get so much labor, it is indeed a very nerve-wracking thing.

In fact, the negotiation process was as expected by Mo San. As the special envoy of the West India Company, Cornelis Bickle, after complaining endlessly about various policy restrictions on the East Coast, finally honestly Agreeing to all the conditions put forward by the people from the east bank, this did not surprise Mo San, but it surprised the local officials in the Hue area who accompanied him. Dutch red-haired is also very good at loading garlic.

Mo San smiled and said nothing about this, and the "waste paper" of the three-level parliamentary document of the United Provinces bought from The Hague - from which envoys from all over the world are happy to steal the information of the United Provinces - clearly shows that in Guyana's "Savage Coast" In the Essequibo River, Berbice River and Pomeron River delta areas, there are only about 4000 whites who signed an agreement with the West India Company to work there. Most of them are from Zeeland, but most of the planters are immigrants. The Portuguese Jews in the Netherlands relied on the West African slaves imported from Curacao as their labor force to start the production and trade of sugar.

Such a small number of people is not even as large as the number of whites in New Netherland. There are still about 7000 whites there (more than 2500 of them live in New Amsterdam). No wonder they are losing Pernambuco, Ceara, Ma Lannion and other places have been spending huge sums of money on wars with the Portuguese. Guyana's sugar production is really not strong enough, so they have to invest huge sums of money to maintain the war in northeastern Brazil, so even if they lose money every year not hesitate.

However, after all, the West India Company is almost unable to sustain it. The stock price of this company has fallen to less than one-third of its original face value, and it is heavily indebted-mainly caused by the war with Portugal for many years. If he hadn't adjusted his center of gravity in time and cut his flesh through pain, he might have gone bankrupt by now.Therefore, this time Mo San took the trouble to raise the issue of New Netherland, and Cornelis also took the trouble to say that the West India Company has no plans to sell this colony for the time being, and the right of first refusal for the people on the east coast is only It will only take effect when the company intends to sell. At that time, the board of directors of the West India Company will be the first to notify the people on the east coast, and will only consider negotiating with a third party if it is confirmed that the East Coast Republic of China has announced that it has waived the right of first refusal. The sale or cession of a colony.

Mo San didn't say much about it. He understood very well that not many people in the executive committee planned to buy the New Netherlands, which was far away in the sky. The threat of the British may become a bleeding hole for the people on the east coast in the future.But the right of first refusal is actually very interesting, because according to the agreement, the three-level councils of the United Provinces cannot negotiate with any third party on the status of the New Netherland aside from the people on the east coast. For any piece of land, people on the east coast have to be given priority because they have the right of first refusal.

There is no doubt that if this clause is used well, it is also a good weapon-a weapon that beats or even blackmails the British, and a weapon that can obtain huge benefits without spending money or fighting. After a few years, England The two parties involved with the United Provinces can appreciate the accuracy of the East Coast people's pre-positioning.

After the two sides talked about this, there was actually nothing much to say. Mo San then chatted with Cornelis about the new investment hotspot-West Africa.The Dutch West India Company has slightly improved its financial situation by relying on the gold, ivory and slave trade there in the past two years, but their huge profits have also attracted competitors, namely the Royal Explorer African Trading Company in England. The frantic collection of gold, black slaves and ivory in Guinea constitutes a direct competition with the West India Company. The relationship between the two parties is now quite delicate.

Cornelis obviously didn't want to talk about this issue, because it was not a pleasant content. Mo San expressed his understanding, so it was convenient for the West India Company to end the meeting. The next details will be discussed and formulated by the attachés of both parties. .

On November 11, Cornelis Bickle left Port Orient on a ship of the West India Company and embarked on a return journey.And less than a month after he left, a fast contact ship returning from the Cape Verde Islands brought back an amazing news: the Royal Explorer African Trading Company and the Dutch West India Company went to war, and the location was in West Africa!

(End of this chapter)