Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 277 The Dutch Prepare for a Rainy Day ([-])

It is naturally Governor De Young's handwriting to fully support the barbarian Kama tribe located on the northeast side of the mountain.The top executives of the East India Company have a bad impression of the people on the East Coast, especially the vigorous and enterprising spirit shown by this country from the inside out, as well as their incredible military and industrial technology levels. It does not make the Netherlands, an emerging capitalist country, feel a dangerous message.

There are only tens of thousands of people in this country, and they are already so aggressive. If they are allowed to develop in another 20 or 30 years, they will probably become an important emerging regional power.At that time, the interests of the Netherlands must be greatly threatened-especially when the East Coasters are so close to the Far Eastern trade routes that the East India Company regarded as the lifeline.

What measures must be taken to contain the people on the east coast? This is the consensus view of the Dutch East India Company from top to bottom.Therefore, when the British East India Company was deeply involved in domestic interests and was unable to maintain Cape Town, a colony that was being harassed almost as much as blatantly by the East Coasters, the Dutch East India Company took a fancy to the excellent location here. Immediately bought Fort Good Hope and its nearby colonies from the British at a price of [-] pounds, and became the new owner of the land.

The Dutch East India Company, who knew the reason why the British were untenable and left sadly, would naturally not repeat the same mistakes. They made it clear to the people on the east coast in the north to stop hostile harassment, otherwise they would take retaliation against the people on the east coast.To be honest, although the people on the east coast at this time began to emerge, and successively broke out small-scale wars with the Spanish Peruvian colony and the British East India Company, their strength was still not enough in the eyes of established European countries.In particular, their domestic resources are poor and they are extremely dependent on foreign trade. Although their military strength cannot be underestimated, their war potential is limited after all.All this has made Spain, France, the Netherlands, England, Austria and other traditional European powers not take it too seriously. To put it bluntly, the people on the east coast are not yet qualified to sit on the table where they share the cake, as long as they make it clear to them The people on the east coast expressed their anger, and I believe that the people on the east coast will naturally make wise choices after comparison.

Sure enough, after Governor De Young issued a tactful warning to the East Coasters on behalf of the East India Company, within six months, the so-called "Eight Banners" tribes attached to the East Coasters never appeared on the ground in Cape Town again. .It seems that things are turning for the better, but Governor De Yang dare not take it lightly. As an old adventurer who has been in East India and Africa for more than 20 years, he sees the malice hidden under the seemingly respectful appearance of the people on the east coast. clear.He has no doubt that once the Federation of Provinces falls into some kind of predicament, the people on the east coast will immediately find the opportunity to pounce on them and bite them hard, and then take all the farms, orchards and ports they have worked so hard to manage. take away.

For this reason, while strengthening the coastal defense of the port, Governor De Young also paid enough attention to the land defense of Fort Good Hope.He planned a series of defensive facilities on the river to the northeast of Fort Good Hope, including bastions, forts and other buildings, relying on the river bank.He believes that after the completion of these facilities, the threat to the East Coast people on land will be greatly reduced.The Dutch can rest assured in the Cape Town area, and wait until the accumulated power is sufficient before starting to expand outward.

Of course, while strengthening one's own defense, it is normal to win over the enemies of the people on the east bank to cause them some trouble, and the Kama tribe is the one chosen by Governor De Yang to win over and support them.What's even better is that this tribe is relatively rich, and cooperating with them can bring enough benefits to the Dutch in Cape Town.

Since the East Coasters began a large-scale indigenous extermination operation in this coastal area in the southwestern corner of South Africa a few years ago - the "Great Sweeping" operation, it has been difficult to see them in this area of ​​less than [-] square kilometers. When it came to the neutral indigenous tribes, they were either wiped out, or they took refuge in the East Coast people.Moreover, the people on the east coast implemented a centralized control measure they called "collecting villages and garrisoning" these aborigines, effectively controlling these aboriginal tribes in their hands.

In this way, the Dutch are also facing the embarrassment faced by the British at this moment, that is, they are basically playing stand-alone in the Cape Town area, with no tribes around them, and lack of trading partners.The lack of trading partners means that they cannot make a profit, which means that the East India Company needs to continue to invest a large amount of money here.Although the East India Company still pays more attention to Cape Town at present, and provides a lot of materials and money, but being able to make a profit one day earlier can reduce the company's burden by one day, and it will make the company's top management look at themselves with admiration.More importantly, the more than 700 immigrants under him are all looking forward to Governor De Young leading them to make a fortune. Even the [-] German mercenaries who are paid are not exempt. Who would think they have too much money in their pockets? ?

It happened that at this moment, the Kama tribe, who had gone south and conquered several large and small tribes, and whose power reached the valley on the eastern side of Cape Town, came into the eyes of the Dutch.Moreover, this tribe is the only object that the Dutch in the nearby area can contact and trade.After careful consideration, Governor De Young decided to take a friendly attitude towards this tribe for the time being, that is, to use goods from the Old World to trade with them.

The chief of the Kama tribe seems to be a well-informed barbarian. He attaches great importance to trading with the Dutch, especially the large number of muskets brought by the Dutch.They bought some muskets from the British back then, and these muskets played a huge role in their war against the surrounding tribes. However, due to lack of ammunition and necessary maintenance, most of these muskets can no longer be fired. Therefore, they asked the Dutch to immediately sell them a large number of muskets and ammunition, and teach them how to maintain and repair muskets.

Governor De Young readily agreed to the barbarian's request to purchase a large number of muskets, but at the same time rejected their request to learn how to maintain and repair muskets.He's not that stupid. He still wants to sell more muskets to these barbarians. Wouldn't teaching them to repair muskets cut off his money?

The Dutch sell muskets to the savages for about the same price as the English, that is, an old matchlock for two goats, and a new flintlock for a steer.Over the years, due to the powerful combat power displayed by the East Coasters and the British Royal Model Army in a large number of flintlock guns in battle, arquebus has been slowly depreciating in Europe, and the current price has dropped to 8 Dutch guilders per shot ( about 3.2 yuan), while the price of flintlock guns has risen to a certain extent.The price offered to these barbarians this time can basically have more than 6 times the profit on average.

The savages purchased a total of five hundred imitation Suhr matchlock guns, one hundred flintlock guns, and a large number of lead bullets, matchlocks, gunpowder and cleaning rods, and paid a total of twelve hundred goats and one hundred South African cattle. , so that Governor De Young was extremely satisfied.He knew that this kind of business would definitely not be a one-off. As long as the Kama tribe was still using muskets to engage the enemy, they would continue to find the Dutch to ask for replenishment of lost weapons and ammunition.This business is still going on!

In the process of dealing with the barbarians, Governor De Young also heard a piece of news that interested him-this group of barbarians had already fought with the people on the east coast in the mountains, and successfully repelled them. Attack of the East Coasters.Governor Dejan didn't doubt what these barbarians said, because he once saw a guy who looked like a barbarian leader riding a tall Andalusian horse, wearing a khaki military uniform commonly seen in the east coast army, A pair of cowhide military boots were slung on his feet, and on the horse's buttocks, Governor De Young even saw the markings branded on them by the people from the east coast.

After hearing such news, Governor De Yang obviously couldn't hide his excitement in his heart.After roughly understanding that this barbarian tribe was likely to be able to dispatch an offensive force of thousands of people, he decisively decided to increase support for this group of barbarians.Therefore, in the winter of August, the Dutch in the Cape Town area sent several priests to the Kama tribe deep in the eastern valleys.On the one hand, these priests who have a lot of knowledge can gain the favor of the barbarians and strengthen the connection between the two parties. At the same time, they can also "salvate" the souls of these barbarians.

Karma, the chief of the barbarian tribe, strongly suppressed the opposition voices of the elders and priests within the tribe, and accepted the arrival of the Dutch priest.Not only that, in mid-September, full of courage and innovative spirit, he even took a group of entourage into the Dutch Fort of Good Hope for a visit.He was deeply shocked after returning and immediately decided to abandon some backward traditions and culture, and began to learn from the neighboring Dutch, including their technology, system and language.

At the same time, he also decided to select young and outstanding talents in the royal family. Taking advantage of the honeymoon period with the Dutch, let them return to the Netherlands on a Dutch ship to learn everything that can be learned, including language, theology, military affairs, and agriculture. s things.For this reason, even if it needs to pay the Dutch hundreds of cows, it will not hesitate.

Moreover, even if these royal children were limited by their aptitude and did not learn much in the end in the Netherlands, at least they have greatly opened their horizons this time. After returning, they will definitely be able to bring some changes to their tribe and reduce some ignorance. Provide some assistance for the upcoming reforms of the tribe.

(End of this chapter)