Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 56 Parita Bay
January 1627, 1, Parita Bay.

Parita Bay is the westernmost bay on Panama's Pacific coast, located east of the Azuero Peninsula and only 140 kilometers from Panama City.

The bay has steep cliffs and a very narrow continental shelf. The water depth is nearly 100 meters just a dozen meters from the shore. However, the Azuero Peninsula, which slants into the sea, can perfectly shield against storms from the sea, giving it a natural safe haven geographical advantage.

The "Break the Wave" was now quietly anchored in the harbor, avoiding a raging typhoon.

After leaving the small town of Manta, the "Wavebreaker" did not directly enter the southeast trade wind belt of the southern hemisphere and head for the Chinese mainland. Instead, it continued to wander around the coastal areas of Spanish America unwillingly, trying to see if it could intercept an unarmed Spanish merchant ship and steal some valuables in order to increase its "travel expenses" to the west.

However, after wandering for more than half a month, they encountered sporadic Spanish ships from afar in coastal areas such as Colombia and Panama.

However, the enemy either had three or five merchant ships traveling together, with a large number of people and power, making it difficult to act rashly, or they were on a lone armed merchant ship with many gun barrels, which looked difficult to deal with and could only be avoided quickly.

As for the fishing boats we encountered, I don't think they have much profit and are not worth looting.

A few days ago, the "Break the Wave" entered the Panamanian waters and was suddenly hit by a storm. Amidst the raging waves, it had to sail into the nearby Parita Bay to wait for the storm to subside.

The original plan was to stay here for a few days and then leave in time to avoid being discovered by the Spaniards.

However, just at noon yesterday, a group of Indian natives on the shore came over in small boats.

They first circled the Wavebreaker from a distance, and were hesitant to approach for fear of being attacked.

This slender ship was completely different from the Spanish galleons and traditional European galleons, and the Spanish's iconic Burgundy cross flag was not hung on its mast.

This made the Indians unable to figure out the true identity of the "Wavebreaker" for a while, so they approached very cautiously and went forward step by step to test it.

When the crew of the Wavebreaker waved to them in a friendly manner, the Indians hesitated for a long time and finally sailed a small boat and began to have simple communication with the crew.

A few knives, a piece of cotton cloth, and half a barrel of sherry (Spanish white wine) were lowered from the big ship in a basket.

This move immediately made the Indians feel a strong sense of goodwill.

Afterwards, more than ten small boats rowed over and delivered the fruits, vegetables, fungi and poultry carried on their ships to the big ship one by one.

They even traded some beautiful parrots, a monkey, a fat pig, and two goats for the Breakers.

Just when the Indians thought this was an ordinary transaction, they suddenly dropped a musket from the ship, which immediately surprised and delighted them.

Afterwards, the Indian tribal leader who heard the news quickly came to the "Break the Wave" in a small boat from the shore and eagerly asked to meet the captain.

When he was pulled aboard the ship by the cable, he could not wait to ask if they could sell them a few more muskets, along with some gunpowder and bullets.

In the Americas, especially near the Pacific coast, it was difficult for Indian tribes to obtain firearms, and even iron tools used in daily life were difficult to obtain.

Although Jesuit priests and ministers had come to Indian tribes to preach decades earlier, they opposed Indian shamans who acted as mediums between the living and the dead, and were generally met with hostility from the Indians, who even rejected their preaching.

Faced with the growing power of the Spanish, the Indians' reactions were sometimes violent and sometimes peaceful, depending mainly on their specific survival strategies.

Most of the Indian uprisings were aimed at restoring balance in tribal frontier areas in response to land loss and the threats and destruction of local autonomy and Indian cultural identity by settlers, military fortifications, and missionary activities.

Peace was necessary for the Spanish colonists to secure land and the labor they needed to mine the mines, but they often imposed this peace on the Indians through violence.

The Spanish invaded Indian lands, seizing slaves and livestock or carrying out ruthless massacres.

The border between the two sides changes frequently, and the conflicts between them are naturally fierce and brutal.

The Indians were good at ambushes and sneak attacks, while the Spaniards had an absolute advantage with firearms, sharp iron weapons, and horses.

The coast of Parita Bay is densely covered with jungle, and was once home to hundreds of Indian tribes with a population of up to 30,000.

However, since the Spanish established a colonial outpost in Panama, they have swept and cleansed the Indians here several times, causing the population to decline rapidly.

The elderly, the weak, women and children were all slaughtered, young and middle-aged men were taken as slaves and sent to large and small mines and plantations, and young women were abducted and became objects for the colonists to vent their animal desires.

When the Indians rose up in resistance, they also seized some Spanish muskets and iron weapons, but the quantity was extremely small, and coupled with irregular use, the loss rate was extremely high.

Therefore, the Indians, who were constantly exploited and even slaughtered by the Spaniards, were extremely eager for the import of any weapons.

However, the entire American region was completely covered by Spanish influence, and obtaining weapons was extremely difficult.

Unless there was a head-on conflict with the Spaniards and a surprise attack to kill those brutal colonists, there would be a slight chance of seizing swords and firearms from them.

However, this often comes at a very huge cost, requiring ten or even dozens of times more casualties than the Spaniards.

Now, this big ship from an unknown force is actually willing to sell them weapons, and they are extremely rare muskets.

To show his sincerity, the Indian took out more than a dozen pieces of gold and silver ore as currency to purchase weapons.

They knew that this ore would be of extremely high value after being refined, and it had always been a commodity that Spanish colonists had enthusiastically pursued.

Every year, the Spanish would transport huge amounts of silver from the Potosí silver mines in Peru across the Isthmus of Panama to ports on the Atlantic coast, and then ship them to mainland Europe.

Sure enough, the people on the ship showed great interest in these gold and silver ores and said that they could sell them ten muskets, as well as several swords and spears.

The transaction between the two sides lasted for two days. The Indians exchanged almost all of their accumulated gold, silver and ore for the coveted weapons from this big ship, which greatly enhanced the military strength of the entire tribe.

They even provided corresponding "after-sales service" and very considerately sent several sailors to teach them how to operate the muskets correctly and how to effectively maintain the weapons and ammunition.

After receiving all this, India expressed his most sincere gratitude and gave the other party a lot of copper materials.

They believed that with these weapons, they could not only defeat several of the surrounding tribal enemies with a long-standing grudge, but also pose a certain threat to the brutal Spanish colonists.

When faced with ruthless plundering and killing, they will no longer be weaklings to be bullied, nor will they be lambs to be slaughtered.

I would rather die in battle than be a slave.

(End of this chapter)