Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 68 Decisive Battle: Interlude ([-])

Since Cortes led 1518 Spaniards, [-] Indians, and several blacks to conquer Mexico in [-], Veracruz was the first colony he ordered to establish.Over the past hundred years, Veracruz has now developed into one of the largest cities in New Spain.Every spring, the large sailing fleet "Flota" ① departing from the port of Seville, Spain, takes Veracruz as the main port.

The anchorage of the galleon fleet brought great prosperity to the city of Veracruz, lumber from Campeche, pepper from Tabasco, tobacco from Cordoba, cochineal from Oaxaca, Raw silk③, silver bars from Guanajuato, local pandan fruit, indigo from Honduras, sugar, cured meat, leather, etc. are gathered here, together with mining machines, bricks, mercury, and steel brought by the fleet of galleons , Weapons, gunpowder, clothing, wine, wax and other materials were traded in the market. During the month of the opening of the market, the tax collectors of Vera Cruz were weak when they collected money.

Veracruz in mid-to-late July is still relatively hot and humid. His Excellency Inspector General Alfonso Romero is having a dinner with decent people in the Governorate of New Spain.Due to the great power represented by Romero, important officials in the New Spain region came to Veracruz with almost no family members.

Those who attended the dinner included the Governor of New Spain, the President of the Mexican Trial Court, the President of the Guadalajara Trial Court, the Guatemala Trial Court President, the General of Panama, the General of New Mexico, the General of Texas, the Bishop of Mexico, the Commander of the Lota Fleet, big businessmen from the local area, supervisors of various provinces, mayors of big cities, well-known artists...

Chief Prosecutor Alfonso Romero is the second son of the old Marquis Romero. Unable to inherit the title, he was sent to the court to learn etiquette very early, which gave him the opportunity to be appreciated by the king.Last year, he won a good job from the king—following the “Gaya Anaes” fleet to the “Spanish Continent” ④ to inspect the kingdom’s territory in the New World.

The young King Philip IV was worried about the officials in his American territory, so he decided to send confidant officials from the mainland to inspect the entire American territory to ensure that the interests of the royal family would not be damaged.After some fierce competition, Alfonso Romero got the fat job as he wished.

After starting from Seville and landing in Santo Domingo, Romero went all the way south, passing through Cartagena, Riohacha, San Salvador, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Asuncion, Chase Calcas, Mendoza, Santiago, Conpución, Lima, Quito, Panama, Acapulco, Mexico City and Veracruz.In the past year, His Excellency the Attorney General has traveled to most of Brazil, Peru, New Granada and New Spain, and his personal assets have also multiplied countless times in the process.Today is his last night in Veracruz. Tomorrow he will set off for Havana, where he will wait for the confluence of the "Flota" and "Gaya Anes" fleets, and return in March next year. Seville.

In order to see off His Excellency the Attorney General, the Governor of New Spain called together big and small figures in the territory to hold this farewell party.The farewell party was very grand and the atmosphere was very warm.Governor Gonzalo made a speech in person: "...Mr. Alfonso Bianca de Santis Romero is an elegant, learned, alert and wise gentleman. The Lord is devout, merciful to all beings, abides by the code of chivalry, and is appreciated and favored by His Majesty the King..."

After a lengthy speech.Alfonso Romero raised his glass to express his gratitude with a smile on his face: "The great king sent me to the New World to inspect his territory. After this year's inspection, I would like to say here that everyone in the New Spain region I am deeply impressed by the ability of the gentlemen to govern the territory. You have faithfully performed your duties and kept mines, workshops, plantations, pastures, ports, etc. in order, creating a difficult situation for His Majesty the King. Imagination of great wealth. Regarding your achievements, I will truthfully report to His Majesty, and His Majesty must be very pleased to see your achievements. Come, let us toast to His Majesty the King!"

"Cheers to His Majesty the King!"

Next, the banquet entered the free stage.Many officials and aristocrats who have been stationed in the Quartet all year round also got a rare opportunity to catch up and chat together at this moment, and took the opportunity to introduce their nephews into this social circle.In addition to the gentlemen gathering together to chat about some irrelevant topics, the gorgeous ladies and ladies also gathered together excitedly to exchange some recent anecdotes. Many men's eyes.Especially those young nobles who followed their elders and entered the social circle for the first time, their eyes lingered repeatedly on these ladies and ladies.

Ms. Juana, the daughter of Governor Gonzalo, has a beautiful face and a slim figure. She is a natural leader in this circle. At this time, she is listening with great interest to a lady from Panama, who is a noble lady, and she is listening to some gossip from the south.

"A few months ago, when I went to stay at my aunt's house in Santiago, I heard that some areas in southern Chile were attacked by Tatan pirates. These Tatans had more than a dozen boats, and each time they went ashore by small boat at night , and ransacked every village or town they came across. God, they are so cruel that they don’t even spare the property of the gods in churches or monasteries." Miss Diana, with freckles on her face, narrated in an exaggerated tone He kept making the sign of the cross on his chest.

It gave her a little satisfaction that her news certainly evoked an exclamation from these vain young ladies.

"Tartans? Miss Diana, how can there be Tartans in Peru? As far as I know, the Tartans live next to the vulgar Russians and evil Turks. How did they cross the ocean and come to the new world? What about it?" Juana is not an ignorant noble lady, on the contrary, she is versatile and has received a systematic and good education, thanks to her father, Governor Gonzalo, who favored her.

"I don't know..." Ms. Diana's face turned red, and she hurriedly explained, eager to get Ms. Juana's approval: "It's true! When I lived at my aunt's house, it was already spread all over the city of San Diego. The news of the Tartan attack, many men have been conscripted into the army. My brother is serving in the fleet of Callao, and the governor of Lima Gutierrez has ordered his fleet to set out to destroy these Tartan pirates It is said that these Tartans have threatened the silver mine transportation line in Valdivia, and the governor ordered that they must be eliminated as soon as possible."

Miss Juana was thoughtful after listening, and then she quickly changed the subject: "Hehe, dear Diana, it seems that you have had an unusual adventure. Stop talking about these disappointing topics Now, let's talk about something else." Soon, she and a group of noble ladies began to chat about the sweet cocoa produced in New Granada.

While the ladies gossip about strange happenings in the far south, some bigwigs from New Spain chat softly.

"I heard that Gutierrez's men suffered a big loss in the La Plata area." A middle-aged man in an army uniform said with a wine glass, "Poor Viscount Fernandez has been confirmed to have died off the Strait of Magellan. , and he was buried with two warships and 150 musketeers from the Peruvian fleet. According to the news from Chile, it is likely that the Tatan fleet currently floating along the coast of Chile did it."

"Yes, I've heard that too. It's really a sad story." Another middle-aged man in a navy uniform took a sip of his wine and said, "I was surprised by the performance of the Tartans, especially It is their cunning and tenacity that are impressive. Chiloe Island, Chacao Strait, Cornell, Valdivia River...these places have all been or are being looted by them. Callao's Peruvian fleet has set off and the Tartans played hide-and-seek with them at sea, and everything looked difficult."

"Yes, Raul, everything is very difficult." The middle-aged army sighed, "The Araucan people in the central and southern regions of Chile have heard that they are restless. Especially Chiloe Island, damn Tartan After looting the Port of Castro, they handed over a large number of weapons to the lowly Araucans before they left. These Araucan slaves used these weapons to massacre many immigrants from the Kingdom, and they even sailed to the mainland to attack the land Colonial points, assassination of local officials of the kingdom, incitement of miners' riots, all in all, the situation in the south is not optimistic."

"Chile's military strength is not very sufficient now. The number of Araucan riots has surged by more than [-]% in the past month, and the level of blood is also different from the past. They began to have some matchlock guns, which is very important for counterinsurgency The army is causing a lot of trouble. The governor of Peru is now starting to feel uneasy, La Plata and Chile have taken up a lot of troops, and the two prefectures of Ecuador and Upper Peru have now begun to recruit civilians in small numbers. .Governor Gutierrez wants to calm things down quickly or end the war, I'm not worried about Chile, but I'm not sure if the Governor's generals in La Plata can do that. I know Major Antonio Carlos, he A cautious man, but not aggressive, perhaps sending him to La Plata to command the army was not a good decision."

① Flota, Gaia Anes: The Spanish galleon fleet departs from Seville in the spring and summer of each year, docks in the Caribbean Sea and trades with the colonies of the New World, and returns the following year.

② Cochineal: An insect that contains a substance that can dye in its body.

③ Raw silk was transported from Manila to Acapulco by the Manila galleon along the North Pacific Ocean and along the coast of California.

④The land of Spain refers to the New Granada area, roughly including present-day Colombia and Venezuela.

(End of this chapter)