Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1552 Terrace (21)

Another merchant ship of the Dutch East India Company slowly entered Hai'an Port.

The ship departed from Amsterdam at the end of winter. At that time, there were huge waves on the North Sea and the weather was relatively harsh. It was generally not a good season for sailing.However, the Dutch East India Company, which has become more and more common in year-round sailing (referring to ships sailing every month), is no longer a strange thing to sail in the winter and spring seasons after Christmas every year.In fact, just as a group of fleets return from the East every year before Christmas, there will also be a large number of ships sailing to the East during this season, especially after the victory of the sea war with the British, the Dutch trade ushered in a moment of recovery.

In fact, sailing in this season also has certain advantages, not all disadvantages.One is that a large number of sailors in the port are unemployed, so it is easy to recruit manpower, and the cost will not be too much; The most important thing is that the number of pirates in the North Sea will be greatly reduced in winter and spring, because the sea conditions are not conducive to their light ships sailing on the sea, which will undoubtedly greatly increase the safety of merchant ships. Compared with the pirates who are also human beings, they are obviously more terrifying.

Due to the relatively good relationship with the East China Republic, over the years, the merchant ships of the Dutch East India Company have also become more and more inclined to stop on the east coast or purchase supplies halfway, instead of taking the traditional African route.In fact, it’s normal to think about it. After Dutch merchant ships cross the Atlantic Ocean in Cape Verde, they can stop at Portugal and a series of ports on the east coast along the way. In the era when the east coast did not rise, this route was unprofitable. But it is obviously different now-they can transport European livestock, ores, specialty wines, food and some other commodities to the east coast for sale, and then rest supplies on the east coast, purchase some industrial products, and at the same time ensure that they have sufficient cash on hand so that they can go to India, China and other places to purchase goods.

Of course, the business acumen of the Dutch has never been underestimated. After realizing that they did not have too many commodities to export to the east coast, they began to undertake part of the business of transporting people, that is, transporting the residents of the old continent who wanted to immigrate to the east coast.Most of these people are slaves bought by the East Bank in Crimea, and a few are entrusted by the three major labor service companies. Generally speaking, the market is not small.

Each of these Dutch merchant ships carried immigrants ranging from a dozen to dozens of people, charged a certain amount of fees, and then sailed across the ocean to the mainland on the east coast for delivery at designated ports.Such a model is undoubtedly a win-win situation. It not only enriches the labor force on the east coast, but also makes use of the cargo space of the Dutch so that it will not go out of space.What's even better is that the Dutch often replace the freight required to transport immigrants with material purchase costs and stay on the east coast, which is simply not too cool.

This is the case with this Dutch merchant ship sailing into Hai'an Port.The ship departed from Vlissingen, loaded with some livestock and other goods specified by the people of the east coast, and 87 Russian immigrants who had made their way from St. Nicholas.On the way, I stopped at Lunli, Bordeaux, Madeira and other places, sold some goods, and also bought some things (such as Sharma, Madeira liqueur, lead-tin ore, etc.), and finally passed through the East The Henghai Island of Cape Verde crosses the Atlantic Ocean and goes all the way south along the Brazilian warm current. After passing through Jiaohe, Zhenhai, Qingdao and other ports, it finally arrives at Hai'an Port.And here is actually the starting point for them to cross the Atlantic Ocean again to the East Indies.

When they entered the port, a merchant ship belonging to the East India Company happened to leave the port.Unlike them, the ship does not seem to have returned to the United Provinces for a long time, and its captain and sailors seem keen to dump cargo between the Far East and the East Coast mainland for huge profits: their ship has brought in a lot of Far East goods, including the weird things from India, let’s just say that they don’t know where to get Chinese textiles—in fact, most of them are smuggled from the territory of Nanming and Qing—and sell them on the east coast. There are big prices on them, such as satin in various colors, checked rolled satin in various colors, thread satin, flower satin, fine silk, etc., which are very popular in the East Coast.

They also purchased a large amount of ordinary white raw silk and colored loose silk, but they were all sold to Luocha Textile Factory before coming here, and replaced with metal farm tools, hardware tools and other things in the cabin. A much-needed item in the Indies.In addition, they also purchased some special things, such as expensive musk, and they were bought at an astonishing price in a big city like Qingdao Port-this is not a joke, because for many years, there are usually more than [-] musks per year. It is very expensive to transport [-] kilograms of musk back from the Far East, because the place of production is far away from the coastline, and there are many checkpoints that need to be passed on the road, so it is not easy to sell, so it can usually be sold at sky-high prices.

"The Chinese are pretty fair, except for those who are sunburned. Most of them look imaginative, with short noses, small eyes, short black eyebrows, wide cheeks, big ears, and black hair. Men are Shaved hair, leaving only a tuft on the top of the head, as long as it can grow, and a thick, stiff braid. They have combed their hair like this since they were ruled by the Tartars, and used to let the hair grow all over the Head, the Chinese we saw in Batavia and Guangzhou are still like this..."

"They talk civilized, behave politely, are diligent in social life, and are especially gifted in business. But they are also talkative, inquisitive, gift-loving, stubborn, proud, and suspicious. When they meet, they raise their hands, but they neither hug. They didn’t touch their top hats or move their feet, but just bent over slightly and said yes, this is a kind of friendly greeting and greeting to express their various wishes. People with low positions come across People in high positions must kneel, words and gestures must show humility..."

"The Qing Dynasty is a market with great potential to tap. They have a great demand for matchlock guns, flintlock guns, artillery, and high-quality plate armor. For this reason, they generously gave us a good price. They also need military tactics. In terms of assistance, Baron Reizenstein and his old buddies had a good time in Tianjin. General Tuhai, the chief of the Qing people, respected them very much and spoke highly of their work. He believed that Baron Reizenstein was very effective His work has greatly improved the combat effectiveness of their army, which was still in the middle ages. His Excellency the Baron was awarded the title of Viscount of the Qing Dynasty last year (1667), but he declined the offer because he still wanted to return to Dusseldorf Take care of your life..."

"But in any case, we must firmly grasp this huge market in our own hands. Let the agreement with the people on the east bank go to hell! As long as we continue to support the Tatar Emperor so that he can further enhance the combat effectiveness of his army, then it is bound to would give our company greater privileges, which are essential to the continuation of the trade. Gentlemen, trade is our lifeline, trade means profit, trade means everything. I hereby appeal to the gentlemen of our headquarters in Amsterdam, Please be sure to allocate funds to enhance the strength of the company's fleet in the Far East. If necessary, a Chinese fleet can be established and stationed on Formosa Island, which can effectively protect the interests of the company..."

With a yell from the bosun on the deck, Marco Tripp put down a copy of a secret report in his hand and locked it carefully in his cabinet—as one of the investors of the East India Company , Marco Tripp has full authority to read the many documents that Batavia sent to the headquarters in Amsterdam-and then call the servants to come, tie himself, cufflinks, put on gloves, put on garters, and buckle He unbuttoned his knees and shoes, and finally brought a walking stick, and then he walked out of the cabin slowly, intending to go ashore and land—his attire was quite different from the simple attire of the people on the east coast at Haian Port Wharf, but But no one will take a second look, because everyone has long been familiar with it, isn't it just a Dutch red hair, what's so strange?

This time he came to Hai'an Port to represent the business circles of the United Provinces and discuss two businesses with people from the east coast.One is that Hai’an Port is now a well-established and large-scale ceramics manufacturing industry. More precisely, they want to purchase some porcelain from the people on the east coast and sell it back to the old continent. This is probably the porcelain that the people on the east coast have produced in recent years. It is the result of the advancement of manufacturing technology, otherwise, what do you think the Dutch are doing all the way here?They are all profiteers who don't make money!

People from the East Coast are also very interested in selling porcelain to the United Provinces.Although their porcelain production technology is still not comparable to that of mainland China (after all, the original craftsmen were all caught in Shandong, and it is normal to have some lack of technical level), but they can make do with it, and they cannot be sold at high prices. Yes, but it is not difficult to sell at ordinary prices, and this will undoubtedly mean a large profit.

Now that the Dutch have taken a fancy to this business, it actually shows that it really has merits and there is really a market.It's just that this kind of market has always been in the hands of the Dutch, and they need to rely on them to sell, but so what?Do not monopolize all the profits by yourself when doing business. Since the Dutch have such distribution channels, why not entrust them with all the East Coast porcelain as agents?As for the oversupply in the market due to the influx of East Coast porcelain into Europe, and the price of porcelain began to fall, that is not something that the East Coast people can consider. This is a headache for the Dutch themselves, and the East Coast people just sell it!

Another business that the Dutch are concerned about is the relatively rich wool textile resources in the Patagonia region. To put it bluntly, it is the Dutch merchants who want to import finished wool from the east coast (of course it must be cheap enough), and then transport it back to the old The mainland will compete with the products of the British, otherwise their life will be very difficult.Do not believe?Please take a look at Leiden, which has always been known as the Textile City!The local woolen textile industry is now almost unable to maintain under the competition of the English. Although some water-powered textile machinery was introduced from the east coast in the early years, the high labor cost and the production mode with two ends outside still make Leiden Under the strong impact of the British, the city's wool textile industry has gradually shrunk, and it has gradually reached the point where it is almost unsustainable today.Therefore, now the Dutch find that their requirements have changed, otherwise they may be completely bankrupted by the British!

And the way that the Dutch thought of against the British was also very simple, that is, to import a large amount of woolen products at surprisingly low prices from the east coast of the New World, and then distribute the goods in their traditional sales markets, and to compete with wool products from England. to compete.Although the production of wool on the east coast is still relatively limited, although their wool textile industry has not been large-scale for many years, and although the cost of their products is not low after long-distance sea transportation, they are still cheaper than those produced by Leiden itself. Ah, and the quality is not bad enough to compete with English goods.

Marco Tripp had already conducted a round of consultations with trade officials on the east coast in Dongfang County, the capital, on such issues before. Generally speaking, the business circles on the east coast were "surprised" by this.In other words, they are of course willing to sell their woolen products to the Old Continent. This is very important to the development and development of the Patagonia region. At the same time, it can also attack the development of the British wool textile industry in disguise. Why not?Moreover, they suggested that Marco Tripp can go to Hai'an Port and Huangyang Port to have a look separately, and talk to the local officials to see if they have the ability to help the businessmen in the United Provinces to solve the problem that has troubled them for a long time. these questions.

Therefore, under such a background, Marco Tripp as a representative—in fact, he himself has long wanted to come to the East Bank, because his family has become more and more close to the East Bank over the years—is easy to follow Together, accompanied by two officials from the East Coast Ministry of Trade, we came to Hai'an Port for inspection in advance.

"Nowadays, the relationship between the United Provinces and the east coast is really getting more and more complicated. Both sides are inseparable from each other economically, and at the same time, they are constantly messing about in eastern trade, and each has its own calculations. Even, when dealing with European countries In terms of affairs, it is difficult to say which of the two countries has more consensus and differences, right?" The moment he set foot on the land of Hai'an Port, Marco Tripp thought helplessly: " However, the strength and influence of the people on the east coast are getting bigger and bigger, and the United Provinces even ask them now, so they dare not offend them too much. Therefore, the decision to allocate funds to increase the Chinese fleet and strengthen Taiwan's armaments should probably be postponed The implementation is better, so as not to cause misunderstanding between the two countries, and finally add chaos to the three-level parliament. People on the east coast, how lucky are you to stay away from the vortex of right and wrong in the old continent, and to be able to view changes in the international situation more calmly. In order to win over You, not only Speaker DeWitt condescended, even the Orange family tried to throw an olive branch, which is really enviable."

(End of this chapter)