50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 901 Sword Pointing at Cape Verde

In 1460, Portuguese explorers Diogo Gómez and Antonio da Nora discovered and named Mayo and Santiago.

In 1462, Diogo Alfonso discovered and named the other islands of Brava.

Shortly thereafter, King Afonso V of Portugal granted the Cape Verde Islands to his brother, Prince Ferdinand.

Subsequently, a group of Portuguese nobles and merchants were allowed to settle on the island, while some Portuguese convicts were exiled there.

By 1470, the Cape Verde Islands belonged to Prince Manuel.

In 1495, Prince Manuel ascended the throne, and the Cape Verde Islands became part of the Portuguese royal domain.

For the next half-century, the Cape Verde Islands became an important base for Portuguese colonists to plunder the west coast of Africa.

Large quantities of looted gold, gems, ivory, and indigo were transported back to Portugal from here.

After the rise of the slave trade in the early 16th century, Cape Verde became a market and transit point for colonialists to sell slaves.

In October 1910, Portugal overthrew the monarchy and established the First Republic.

Prior to this, ownership of the island of Brava had been passed down through generations within a branch of the Capet family, the Pedro family.

Even though Portugal is now a republic, the descendants of the Portuguese royal family are still respected, and their right to inherit private property, including castles, palaces, and islands, is recognized by subsequent governments.

For example, Duvald II, Duke of Braganza and heir to the Portuguese throne.

His wedding was attended by many national dignitaries, including the President of Portugal and the Prime Minister, and the births of his offspring, princes and princesses, are considered major national events in Portugal.

When the Republic of Cape Verde was established, the entire Cape Verdean archipelago had never fought a single war; in fact, the new Portuguese government voluntarily ceded the entire archipelago.

At the time, the Cape Verde African Party didn't even have a navy, so it was impossible for them to retake the Cape Verde Islands.

At the time, the new Portuguese government was facing domestic political instability, and the head of government was also confused, making a foolish move by directly abandoning all overseas territories.

As a result, the present-day Republic of Cape Verde came into being.

However, it should be noted that the new Portuguese government at the time did not have the right to relinquish private lands, and Brava Island was a legal private territory.

Even if the Portuguese government abandons it, Brava Island will still be the land of the Capet family.

The Republic of Cape Verde, which was subsequently established, included the private territory of Bulawa Island as part of its territory, which is naturally illegal under international law.

What's even more interesting is that both the new Portuguese government and the newly formed Republic of Cape Verde...

They all declared at the outset that they would recognize and respect most of the legal documents issued by the previous Portuguese government, including land ownership certificates.

This is the legal basis, according to Pierre de Capet, the current heir to the Île de la Brava, for his right to inherit the island.

This is a fact that Christie's has confirmed.

When Sun Zhiwei received the island's introductory documents, the documents clearly pointed out the potential difficulties that might arise if Bulawa Island sought to inherit the island's legacy.

These difficulties include whether the current government of the Republic of Cape Verde will recognize the island ownership certificate;

And whether the existing residents of Bulava Island are willing to leave the island and accept alternative resettlement, etc. In other words, Sun Zhiwei is currently in the right regarding the ownership of Bulava Island.

It must also be mentioned that the Cape Verde Islands are actually a poor country and a small country that has abandoned its coastal defenses; it is completely open to all countries in the world.

Their domestic army consists of only 1000 people, divided into two branches: the National Guard and the Coast Guard. They don't even have a single decent warship.

For them, nothing else matters as long as it doesn't involve the form of government; they are absorbing foreign investment everywhere.

Its key industries, such as tourism, telecommunications, energy, banking, and insurance, are fully open to foreign capital, and foreign capital controls 60%-70% of Cape Verde’s total industrial assets.

In other words, rich people can speak loudly in Cape Verde, and Sun Zhiwei happens to be very rich.

That made things easier. So, having thought it through, Sun Zhiwei quickly contacted New York and asked the Robert Group to send a negotiation delegation to the Republic of Cape Verde to try and get his island back.

At the same time, he also contacted Subi Island and asked Dong Haoyang to send a warship to support the group's negotiating representatives.

Subi Island currently has three surface warships: two are Dutch-built Van Speck-class frigates with a displacement of 2850 tons, and the other is a Belya-built Petya-class frigate with a displacement of 1180 tons.

Any one of these ships would be enough to support the negotiators, but the journey is quite long, and it's uncertain whether they can make it in time.

But it doesn't matter. Even if we didn't make it in time, we can treat it as a long-distance training exercise.

The only warship on the island is the No. 001 ship, which has only ever reached the Red Sea coast. It has never even been to the west coast of Africa. It would be good if it could come and take a trip here, as it would broaden its horizons.

Considering that there might not be enough time, he remembered that there was another armed yacht in the space, namely the Sukarno light frigate.

Although the Former Java "Naval One" has a displacement of only 650 tons, it looks very large. It is equipped with machine guns and missiles, capable of attacking both air and sea targets, and can also carry a helicopter.

Although its combat power is not strong, it is more than enough to deal with a coast guard like Cape Verde that does not have regular warships. At the very least, it can be used to intimidate people.

However, the Sukarno does not have any crew members yet and needs dozens of crew members from Subi Island to come and pilot it.

This is another new mission; the new crew member needs to take a direct flight to Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, to meet him.

With everything arranged, Sun Zhiwei took an international flight from Athens to Lisbon that same day.

Lisbon is the capital of Portugal, and Portugal was the former colonial power of Cape Verde. There have always been direct flights between Lisbon and Praia.

While waiting for his connecting flight in Lisbon, Sun Zhiwei sat on a high floor of an airport hotel, overlooking the ancient city bathed in the fading glow of a once-great empire.

Portugal was the initiator of the Age of Exploration, and it has a glorious past.

In 1415, they captured the North African port of Ceuta and established their first overseas colony.

In 1488, Dias discovered the Cape of Good Hope, paving the way for the opening of an eastern sea route around Africa.

In 1497, Vasco da Gama rounded the Cape of Good Hope and reached India, opening up a maritime trade route between Europe and Asia.

Magellan's circumnavigation of the globe in 1522 (although it was a Spanish fleet, Portuguese navigation technology provided support for it).

Each of the great maritime achievements is deeply imprinted on the scroll of history, and will be remembered by history even 1000 years from now.

(End of this chapter)