Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1026 Returning ([-])

February 1654, 2, Lisbon, sunny.

To be honest, the Kingdom of Portugal, which was only over ten years after the restoration (1640), was far from being as depraved as it was decades later. After all, they are still at war with the Spaniards, and there are quite a few people who are willing to fight for the independence and freedom of this country. war - of course, after only a few decades, the Portuguese, who were in a good mood, fell again, according to the description of some Portuguese in later generations: "...a generation of backward, suspicious, distrustful of themselves and their country. , they ignore the country's traditions, ridicule the country's system, complain that the country lacks this and that, but they don't try to create any wealth for the country. This generation of young people hates the land where they are born, the language they use, and the education they receive. They are like The owl nestled in the nest, with a stern face and sullen expression all day long. Indeed, this generation of young people has thrown the motherland and the spirit of the motherland into the sky. They seem to have been imported from Le Havre to Portugal in a large wooden box. .”

The generation of Portuguese youths who grew up after making peace with the Spaniards undoubtedly did not do well enough. This echoes the background of the loss of their country’s overseas colonies: they succumbed to the Dutch in the Far East Islands, and watched the British in India. Wink, also struggled in Africa and the New World.If it weren't for Brazil's incomparable wealth (there was a mahogany economic cycle in the past, a sugar economic cycle in the middle, and a gold and diamond economic cycle later, and the Portuguese made a lot of money), this country might not be able to maintain a luxurious and wealthy life long ago.

Of course, in this time and space, the crisis of the Kingdom of Portugal may come earlier than in the history of later generations-because of the variable of the East Coast Republic.Undoubtedly, from a geopolitical perspective, the Portuguese have every reason to be wary of the East China Republic in the New World.They may cross the Gerard Mountains at any time, and then gain a foothold at the southern end of the Brazilian plateau, and then spy on the entire fertile Brazilian plateau, and this is what the Portuguese are most worried about.

As early as when Mo San was in Istanbul, he received diplomatic letters from Portuguese trustees twice. The letters were written by the confidential attendants of King João IV of Portugal. Letter inviting Mozo to Lisbon for a diplomatic visit.Mo San was quite busy at that time, so although he accepted the invitation of the Portuguese for a diplomatic visit, he did not agree on a specific time.Fortunately, the messenger explained that the invitation was valid for a long time, so today, when Mo San left his post and returned to China, he finally decided to go to Lisbon to have a date with the Portuguese.

Although Lisbon in the mid-17th century was far less prosperous than 100 years ago, the masts of ships in the port are still telling people about the glorious past of the Portuguese colonial empire. In the face of emerging countries, it is no longer difficult to hide the decline and defeat, so that the business is in a sharp depression, and it can no longer be compared with the prosperity of the past.Perhaps Portugal's business will have to wait until Brazil's cane sugar enters markets around the world in a big way before it can have such a slight improvement.

Against people's surprised gazes, Mo San and the others handed a well-written letter to the dock officials and revealed their identities.The dubious wharf officials invited them to rest inside, and at the same time sent someone to report to the palace.Outside the window is a small and large cargo distribution center. Some business brokers shuttle through the crowd, constantly introducing business to each merchant or captain.Among these people, the largest number are obviously practitioners in the spice industry, followed by middlemen who sell sugar, and some brokers who serve foreign merchants-Portugal needs to import a large amount of goods from other countries.

Today, when the East Indies are lost, the only spice trade that the Portuguese can afford and scale is probably pepper (there are also some cloves, cinnamon and other spices smuggled from the Dutch-controlled area, but the amount is very small) .These spices are not only exported abroad (in fact, the main export transaction place of Portuguese pepper is not in the country), but also many are used domestically.

Mo San has known for a long time that the two countries in the Iberian Peninsula are almost agricultural and feudal countries, and the rural economy accounts for the majority.At the beginning of summer every year, due to the lack of feed in the countryside, a large number of cattle and sheep must be slaughtered, and when beef and mutton are salted and smoked, they must be preserved with pepper (the same is true for storing fish).Therefore, it can be said that spices—especially relatively cheap pepper—almost became a necessity of life in Europe at this time, and this was also one of the important reasons for the huge profits of the spice trade.

The city of Lisbon entered the fast lane of development during the prosperity of the spice trade.At that time, the city was inhabited by a large number of immigrants from other places and even foreign countries (of course it still is), so that the rural output around the city could not support them.A Portuguese once said sarcastically that the raw meat in Lisbon comes from the United Kingdom, the cabbage comes from the Bay of Biscay, and even their eggs were imported from abroad at one point, which in Mo San’s opinion is simply “crazy”.

Of course, the most imported goods in Portugal are still various industrial products, such as weapons, clothing, furniture, paper, vehicles, ships, shipbuilding tools, stone, printed matter, leather, etc.These imported goods have greatly impacted Portugal's already extremely fragile national industry, so that in the 16th and 17th centuries, their industrial level was almost the same as that in the 13th century. They were still blacksmith shops, tile kilns, homespun textiles, and shoemaking. , making harnesses, shipbuilding, etc.—and what is even more frightening is that these only handicraft productions can only serve as a supplement to the needs of major cities and towns. Import is simply speechless.

"Maybe, in the future, we will find a way to bring goods from the east coast into Portugal. Now, only the Almeida family imports some cotton cloth from the east coast to Lisbon for sale every year, but most of the textiles here still come from Italy, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The share of Anhe Textiles is not impressive at all." Mo San looked at the noisy market outside, but his mind turned to business.

"Mr. Special Envoy, I am Luis de Vasconcelus y Souza, from the respected Castro Mailor family. You may call me Luis, nice to meet you .” Just as Mo San was wandering, a young polite voice sounded not far away.

Mo San turned his head and saw a young man who was too young (maybe he was a nobleman?), which made him slightly displeased.The Portuguese are really unreliable. Since you are invited to come here for a meeting, you should also send an experienced official or nobleman.Fortunately, a young man with no hair on his mouth was actually sent here. Could this be what King Joao IV himself meant?Despise my big east bank?

"Very nice young man." Mo San walked over to shake hands with Louis, and asked in a slightly cold tone: "So, are you here to negotiate with me on behalf of His Majesty Joao?"

"Unfortunately, His Majesty is seriously ill and is bedridden, unable to see guests. Some highly respected court ministers are also leading the army outside. At present, Queen Gusmao from Sidonia is in charge of the palace, but she has been too sad recently, and obviously cannot see guests. So, please forgive me, but I think I will use my knowledge and wisdom to try my best to have a sincere talk with you to eliminate the misunderstanding between the two countries and improve the relationship between the two countries, would you like to?" Young Mai The young man from the Luol family looked into Mo San's eyes and said in a hopeful tone.

There are no tigers in the mountains, monkeys dominate!This sentence popped up unexpectedly in Mo San's mind, all the nobles with a certain status went out to fight, so he sent such a brat to receive him, although his status didn't seem to be low (the Earl's family origin), but this is too underestimating.That's all, I'm going to be perfunctory with the Portuguese, and then go back to the country, and I won't bother to quarrel with these people in the future.

"Young man, I would like to talk to you. Please sit down." Mo San almost regarded himself as the owner of the dock official's office. After inviting the young nobleman to sit down, Mo San also found a chair and sat down. He opened the mouth and said: "So, Luis, the king of your country wrote me a long letter last year, which mentioned some of his views on the situation in Brazil and its future status. I want to know if you have your own opinion on this aspect." Opinions. Feel free to speak up, without restraint."

"Envoy Mo, may I ask if your country can withdraw from the war in Recife?" Louis was really young, he didn't even bother to go around, and asked Mo San directly: "Perhaps you don't know that our government is illegal for deportation. The Dutch who entered Recife were very determined and would not hesitate to pay any price for it. But based on the relationship accumulated between our two countries over the years, we very much hope that your country will not intervene in the battle in Recife, so as not to damage each other Of course, if possible, our government will even consider giving you some compensation, provided that you no longer shelter and support the Dutch.”

"Hehe." Mo San laughed when he heard the words, and only heard him ask: "What compensation can you give us? Money? Materials? Slaves? Land? Or something else? You know, our appetite is quite big. Well, don't disappoint me, young lad."

"We can transfer the island of Ceylon to your country, or replace some land on the coast of East Africa with you. What does Envoy Mott think of this plan?"

"The island of Ceylon is in danger under the attack of the Dutch, and the land on the coast of East Africa may also be disturbed by endless intrusions, right? What's more, how can these lands compare with Brazil in the New World? We are only interested in the land that is close at hand." Speaking of this, Mo San asked his followers to take out his "artifact" from the bag - a simple map of the southern tip of the Brazilian Plateau, intending to After exploring the borders with Balboa's map, let's have fun with this young nobleman.

(End of this chapter)