Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 705 Southern Cone ([-])

The Southeast Pacific is violent in midwinter.During this season, the south-west prevails over the south-east and becomes the absolute dominant force over these choppy seas.At this time, any ship sailing in the coastal waters will be extremely careful - especially those sailing ships - because if they are not careful, they will be taken to the rocky southern coast of Chile by rough currents or strong winds. The grave of a sail-powered vessel.

However, if you are familiar with the geological and hydrological conditions here, and have extra power such as a steam engine that does not rely on sails, then you will look for the broken islands with strange rocks on the shore and the narrow winding waterways. To some peaceful havens buried deep in the mountains.

The Free City of Araucan is one place.Behind a series of broken islands and mountains in the depths of this port city off the coast of Chile, the turbulent sea is mostly offset by the mountains, so the coastline here looks very quiet—or close to dead.If it weren't for the occasional seabirds appearing over the bay, first-timers might even think that this semi-arid city with strong winds all year round has been completely lost in the long river of history.

But the truth is just the opposite.The free city of Araucan is quite prosperous now. At least on the land within one or two square kilometers controlled by the people on the east coast, various buildings have sprung up in less than a year.Ship repair yards, Taoist temples, warehouses, government compounds, livestock pens, barracks, nursing homes and even shops have sprung up one after another, adding a bit of vitality to this young city in the desolate mountains of southern Chile.

Last month (July), after obtaining the approval of the Executive Committee, the Navy Pacific Task Force purchased some neighboring land from the Araucans at the cost of 7 head of cattle and 8 sheep. The plot has almost doubled the area of ​​the east bank control area.On August 1, Lieutenant Fabian, who was in charge of local affairs, hired a large number of Araucans and began to dig a diversion channel and artificial reservoir near a nearby river that entered the sea.In this semi-arid area with little precipitation, fresh water resources are undoubtedly extremely precious. The people on the east coast do not allow those precious fresh water to flow into the sea in vain, so they use a lot of manpower and various building materials to try to build the An artificial reservoir comes out for daily drinking and agricultural irrigation for residents.

In addition to this artificial reservoir, the East Coast people also started to build a small shipyard near the pier.The shipyard will be jointly invested by the Ministry of the Navy and the Ministry of Agriculture, each with a half share.Some of the technicians needed by the factory will be drawn from three domestic shipyards, and some will be trained by themselves in the future. Of course, this first requires the establishment of a vocational school. The factory will start with the manufacture of [-]-ton fishing boats and wait until the technology gradually matures. Start building larger ships.

It is worth mentioning that the ships built by this factory named Pacific Shipyard will basically be steam-powered ships, which mainly involves the annoying ocean currents and wind directions off the coast of Chile.In summer and autumn, the southeast wind plays the leading role here (this is also the reason why the Peruvian current compensates for the upwelling, because the strong southeast wind blows the seawater near the sea to the deep sea, which causes the bottom seawater to surge up, and also brings In winter and spring, due to the northward movement of the direct sun point, the wind direction on the southern coast of Chile becomes erratic, but generally it is still westerly (southwest wind, northwest wind) are more, while the southeast wind is still the mainstream in north-central Chile.

Sail-powered boats are undoubtedly difficult to navigate in such climates.Maybe they go north with the wind and the water are very smooth, but if they want to go south, they will have to wait for the moment when the wind changes not much, and this is completely out of the question.Therefore, for the convenience of sailing ships, each ship produced by the Pacific Shipyard will be equipped with a steam auxiliary power system to ensure that the ship can still sail slowly in an environment against the wind and the current.

As for the wood needed for shipbuilding, it can only be cut from the nearby mountains or even the Tierra del Fuego to the south.Especially in the Tierra del Fuego area, a large area of ​​thick and lush beech forest covers a large part of the island.These trees are tall and strong, and I don't know how many years they have grown. They are suitable for both ship masts and ship hulls. In short, they are still an ideal shipbuilding material.

In the vision of the Admiralty, these are the sources of timber for the Pacific Shipyard.At that time, they will urge the government to relocate a group of residents to settle here as soon as possible, or they can hire the indigenous people of Tierra del Fuego and southern Chile—unfortunately, their numbers are extremely rare—to cut down trees.After simple processing, the cut trees are shipped to the free city of Araucan, and then dried in the wood drying plant to be established locally, and finally cut and processed to make ship materials or other materials. Some woodwork.

Some people may ask here, why not build the ship from several local shipyards on the east coast and then drive to the coast of Chile?Those shipyards not only have advanced equipment, but also have enough workers and rich shipbuilding experience, so why bother to build a shipyard on the Pacific coast?You must know that this place is not within the traditional sphere of influence of the East Coast people, and there are still some concerns about safety.

This question is actually easy to answer, because from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, whether it is through the Strait of Magellan or around Cape Horn (the latter accounts for the majority), the wind and waves are very strong.It's okay for large ships, but it's hard to say for small fishing boats of one or two hundred tons. If you're unlucky, you'll end up in those cold and violent waters.

Don't you see that the Drake Passage has swallowed hundreds of ships and more than 2 lives in history. It is really a test of character for small ships to pass here.Therefore, if you want to reduce the shipwreck rate, it is best to open a new shipyard on the Pacific coast. If I talk about the strength of the mountains (Daxing'anling), let me say it for nothing.

The [-]-ton fishing boat built by this shipyard wanders along the coast of Chile. It usually catches fish and also serves as a patrol officer, without risking its life to cross dangerous sea areas.As for the fishery products caught, they can be handed over to large ships passing by to bring them back to the mainland; even, after the opening of the planned two-ocean railway, goods from the Pacific coast can be transported to Rioga very quickly by land transportation. The port on the banks of the Yegos River, and then look for an opportunity to transport it back to the country.

Of course, in the sense of long-term planning and strategy, the existence of the Free City of Araucan and the Pacific Shipyard has a deeper meaning.That is to say, once the Ministry of Communications and the Navy jointly open up the South Pacific circulation route, the free city of Araucan will become an indispensable key node: the immigration transport ships coming from Australia and New Zealand have experienced more than 20 days After a long voyage, key supplies can be obtained in this port city.The crew can get rest, the ship can be maintained, and the supplies on the ship will also be updated. These are undoubtedly necessary conditions for the ship to continue its long-distance voyage.

According to the plan of the Ministry of the Navy, after the opening of the route in the future, the first batch of oriental immigrants will not go anywhere, and all will be resettled in the free city of Araucan.Here they will use the precious fresh water resources to grow some oats, rye and other grains in small quantities. In addition, they will also plant barren-tolerant and high-yielding food crops such as potatoes and sorghum, so as to be self-sufficient and provide food for passing ships and Immigrants provide the necessary supplies.

Of course, they will also use the natural conditions here for grazing, and goats and sheep will become the mainstream livestock of the residents.The Ministry of Agriculture also put forward a suggestion this time, and it has been implemented.They spent a lot of money to buy an animal that was so abundant on the North American prairie from the Dutch and English captains who came to the ports on the east coast to trade, that is, the famous North American bison.

The animal was large, adaptable, and prolific, making it a very good source of meat and leather.In the past two years, the Ministry of Agriculture has successively purchased dozens of these "grumpy guys" from the Dutch and the English, and all of them have been scattered and resettled in the Baleen Whale Harbor area of ​​the Falkland Islands.

Agriculture officials plan to ship some of it to some closed islands off the port of Araucan.Many of these islands are small and uninhabited. Except for some seals and seabirds, there are weeds everywhere, which are very suitable for the growth of these North American bison.After their population has multiplied to a certain number, the local government can organize residents to hunt on the island to obtain a large amount of fresh meat, animal fat and leather, and the economic benefits are still very huge.Anyway, those islands are also some desolate uninhabited islands, it would be a pity not to make good use of them.

Bison, goats, fish, and a small amount of grains, potatoes, and vegetables are almost enough to support many immigrants from the Ming Dynasty who may flock here in the future.After these Ming immigrants arrived here, they will multiply and live here, and then gradually expand to the surrounding areas. With the establishment of new towns and the completion of new traffic arteries, Tierra del Fuego, Patagonia, and central Chile are all Will gradually be populated by populations from the East.They will go from south to north, and together with the expansion of the mainland from north to south, they will completely control the southern cone part in the hands of the East Coast Republic of China.

(End of this chapter)