Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1384 New Master of Xinhua Island ([-])

On October 1664, 10, Huang Yi and his entourage had been inspecting Daze Township for several days.

After a few days, his biggest feeling is that it is too difficult here in Daze Township!It is difficult not because the residents of Daze Township do not work hard, but because the geographical environment here is too bad!

As we all know, Xinhuaxia Island is actually a terrain that is high in the center and low around, and on the side facing the Indian Ocean is a huge slope. This slope is about 50 kilometers wide and extends to the sea.This slope, the foot of the slope is a long and narrow lowland formed by alluvial plains, which are fragmented because of some north-south rivers.

Speaking of these plains at the foot of the slopes, the local residents also had tears in their eyes: when the river flows out of the central plateau to the slopes, it relaxes immediately, but it is difficult to enter the sea under the action of trade winds and currents, and the alluvial deposits can hardly enter the deep sea, so they touch the land , forming dunes and spits with little curvature, giving the impression of a straight coast.Rivers are usually difficult to flow through this zone, they flow slowly, meander, branch into many harbors, and leave some oxbow lakes.So, you know that the entire east coast of Xinhuaxia Island is dominated by beaded lagoons, separated by low ridges called "Panggarana" by some locals. There is no harbor deep into the land, and it is windy and not Conducive to marine activities, the small silted plains behind the coast often have many swamps—in short, there is not much land suitable for planting here, and great efforts must be made to drain the swamp water on the silted plains before it is possible to develop coastal areas. plain.

Unfortunately, the vicinity of the Daze Township settlement established by the East Coasters is also a typical East Coast landform.The land suitable for planting is only a small piece of land around the town, and further away is the silted swamp plain. Later generations of Malagasy raised fish, planted taro, bananas and other crops here. There are so many tricks, it is estimated that this is the only way to do it.

But there is also luck in the misfortune. The east coast of this era is inaccessible and has not yet undergone large-scale development by later generations. In particular, a large number of dense forests (mangroves) still exist by the sea, and many trees grow on the swampy silted plain, which makes the surface The soil here is mostly brick red soil volcanic soil, brick red soil cohesive soil under the forest or river alluvial soil, and it has not degenerated into iron-crusted red soil that is difficult to use and needs to be rectified. It is a blessing in misfortune.And the early colonists on the east coast also relied on these soils that could barely be rated as "upper middle" to grow a large amount of grains, vegetables and fruits, and while feeding themselves, they also supplied a large number of ships on the east coast— ——Even sometimes some Dutch ships will stop here for supplies, so that they will have enough "strength" to cross the Indian Ocean to the Sunda Strait.

However, leaving these marginally arable coastal plains (deeply cut by rivers) and going deep into the inland silted plains, only some difficult swamp rice fields can be developed. The swamp rice fields of the later Madagascars have a yield of about It is one ton per hectare, one harvest per year, which is appallingly low, so in the end they switched to cash crops, such as coffee, palm, banana, coconut, pepper and clove, and the income is still reasonable-if people on the east coast want to To develop the inland alluvial plains (sooner or later, because this is the only way to occupy the central plateau), basically these are the roads.

"Captain Huang, Daze Township is really tough. Behind us is a large silted swamp, and we can't spare enough manpower to drain the swamp water and expand the area of ​​cultivated land. Moreover, mosquitoes are everywhere in the swamp, and the death rate in reclaiming wasteland is also low. It’s too high, and everyone doesn’t want it. Now, the only sideline of our Daze residents besides farming is fishing in lagoons and oxbow lakes. Thanks to Tianzun, the fish in these lakes (both saltwater fish and Freshwater fish) are still very abundant, and the annual catch is quite a lot, but the tragedy is that we lack enough salt to pickle, and the above does not allow us to cut down too much forest to make wooden barrels, which is really too difficult... ..." There have been too many complaints like this in Huang Yi's ears in the past two days, and without exception, they all come from the local officials of Daze Township. , I hope to get some policy or material preference, so that everyone's life will be easier, it is too difficult to open up wasteland!

Huang Yi was well aware of their purpose, and at the same time, she did not intend to refuse their request. After all, the new official took office, whether it was to win over local officials, or to reward them, to support the brothers who were struggling to open up wasteland in the local area. , isn't it normal?Huang Yi made up her mind to send two or three thousand Sakaravas, Bezimisarakas, and Tanaras from Xinhua County and Ningguo Port after returning, and send them to Daze Township and several nearby villages that will be established soon. The new settlements, while reorganizing the existing coastal land, went deep into the silted plains, drained the accumulated water, leveled the land, improved the environment, and continuously expanded the land area suitable for farming, contributing their efforts to the colonization of the people on the east coast.

By the way, speaking of the new settlements that will be established on the east coast in the future, this is still Huang Yi's plan.Gein's east coast is really suitable for growing spices such as pepper and cloves. It has been the main spice producing area in Madagascar in history, and a large number of them are exported to France, creating excellent economic benefits. Therefore, Huang Yi plans to expand the population of the east coast. The power in this long and narrow coastal area seems to need to be obtained from the Antezaka, Antefazi, Antemoro and other tribes. In today's form, it should not be very difficult——Have you seen Ma Wanpeng Before leaving, he had negotiated with the Antaimoro people about the purchase of Manan Batu, Manan Tenina and other places. The price was only [-] muskets and some weapons and ammunition, which was very cheap.Well, Huang Yi has already changed the name of Manan Batu to Lingchuan Township and Manan Tenina to Qinshui Township, and plans to send some immigrants to cultivate after returning. This shows his eagerness.

"Everyone, I am aware of the situation in Daze Township, and I am deeply sympathetic and worried. I really plan to increase investment in this area. But manpower cannot violate the laws of nature. This is the iron law! The current population size of Daze Township It has reached its limit, and there is not much land available for cultivation. The rest is to grind the water and develop to the inland siltation plain. Of course, this process is very dangerous, very laborious, and very long. Health comes to take risks, don’t worry, someone will come to do these jobs.” Huang Yi first appeased the princes of Daze Township, gave a sweet date, and then said with a sigh: “But who made the environment here so bad, The hard work of rivers does not produce nice floodplains or deltas, as on the West Coast, where alluvial deposits are held back by wind and sea and re-deposited..."

"Later, the Pioneering Team government plans to build several new settlements further north of this place. In addition to the place bought by Captain Ma Wanpeng, we also plan to build three settlements on the edge of the territory of the Tanara people and the Beziliao people (that is, along the coast). New settlements, to take advantage of the superior natural conditions there to develop the pepper planting industry. At that time, you will definitely need to select cadres from your Daze Township to take charge of the past, so you must work hard and strive to seize this opportunity." Huang Yi finally said Throwing a big bone, I believe it will cause a lot of scrambling in Daze Township.

In fact, the idea of ​​building settlements on the edge of the territory of the Tanara people and Beziliao people came up after chatting with the followers last night, because the local tribes are scattered and weak, and they are not as powerful as those on the west coast The unified regime is not as brave and militant as the Bala people in the south, nor is it as written and inherited as the Antemoro people, and the level of civilization is average, which also means that it is easy to be conquered by the people on the east coast.

There are currently three tentative settlements that the people on the east bank intend to establish, namely Yangcheng Township near the small town of Manampangdru in later generations, Gaoping Township near the small town of Wanga Indranu, and the township near the small town of Faravangana. Lu'an Township.Speaking of these three settlements, they are quite important, because the coastal areas that can be cultivated are relatively large, and the inland areas have less silted plains, mostly flat land or low hills, and the conditions for the development of plantations are very favorable. For the spice market on the east coast, where local demand is increasing, it is definitely a place with great potential.

What's more, between Lu'an Township and Gaoping Township, there is a low area called "Ihusi Corridor" in later generations, which can directly lead to the central plateau where the essence of the whole island is located. Undoubtedly, it is extremely important for people - if you don't take advantage of the powerful opportunity that the Melina people have not yet conquered here, is it possible to wait until the enemy is heavily guarded before doing it?How is it possible!

Of course, although the level of civilization of the local aborigines Tanara and Beziliao (mostly the latter) is not high, they can also make iron and farm tools, use cattle to plow land, dig a large number of irrigation canals and Terraced fields, except for the lack of writing and the unified country, are almost no different from any feudal kingdom.

However, compared with the aborigines in the southeast or south, the Beziliao people hardly have anything to ask for on the east coast, and it is probably impossible to acquire land from them through purchase.Therefore, at the end of the day, most of you still have to go through a battle, and you can decide who owns the land after you understand whose fist is stronger. Naturally, this is not what the people on the east coast are afraid of. On the contrary, they like this method very much. Because a large number of slaves can be obtained.

On October 10, after staying in Daze Township for several days, Huang Yi took a boat and left the Daze Port Wharf, which is still not very convenient. Following the steady southeast wind and the warm current of Mozambique, he went northward slowly and stopped at Manampa on the way. Anchored near the mouth of the Trana River, and then rowed a small boat to visit the shore.There are no natives near the estuary, probably because the wind is strong here, and the Beziliao people are not related to any fishing ethnicity, so Huang Yi and others can walk around the shore undisturbed.

"Occasionally there will be some Arab or Persian ships coming here, and sometimes Indian small boats will come here, but they are rare." An island Eight Banners officer stood behind Huang Yi and said in a flattering manner: " On the long east coast between Fort Doufan and Antungil Bay, **** merchants once established several trading stations and bought various specialties here. As you said, sir, the residents here are good at planting Pepper, because the climate is suitable, they can't tell when the pepper was there, probably it was brought by the Arab merchants when they came to trade."

Huang Yi nodded while listening, while paying attention to the landforms of the estuary and the coast.Here is a mixed area of ​​lush rainforest and Savoca (light forest to dry grassy meadows). Taking advantage, the remaining forests can only be cramped in some valley lowlands, but on the seashore facing the sea, there are still dense mangroves in most places, and some old sand dunes still present a garden scenery, which is very eye-catching.

"It's strange that the natives are all in the inland area, and there are not many people on the coast." Huang Yi stood on a low ridge, thinking a little puzzledly: "But this is the place where the later generations of Middle Eastern and French people live the most." The old 'colonial center, the first batch of European colonists reclaimed land by the sea. I can only think that the natives don't pay much attention to it, a coast with little shelter, those wide and unstable estuaries , divided this corridor area full of swamp valleys and blocked by steep forest slopes in the west into fragments. The natives did not have the ability to develop swamps. The only force on the island capable of building large-scale water conservancy projects was probably only on the central plateau. That man's feudal kingdom."

"Hmph, since the natives don't want it, then our Dadong'an will be disrespectful. If such a good land is developed to grow pepper and other cash crops in the future, it should be very good." Huang Yi continued to think: "There are also coconuts. Trees and palm trees, both of which can be processed industrially, have considerable potential to be tapped. If a large-scale plantation is established, it will surely become a new weapon for export to the local area. As for the problem of labor shortage, Hehe, aren’t the nearby Antenoji, Tanara, Beziliao, and Bezimisaraka people all ready-made laborers, and they just grab them to farm. Oh, yes, it’s not just about farming , I have to ask them to build roads. There are almost no good ports on the east coast. There must be some roads or railways to connect the various settlements. It’s a problem. Damn, it’s no wonder that the natives don’t care about this place. The traffic is inconvenient, it’s windy, and there are many swamps. Can't Kishi do it!"

It has been three years since I wrote the book for the first leader of the book, The String of Time and Space. It is really not easy to be the first leader...

(End of this chapter)