Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 801 Across the Ocean (Fifteen)

On February 1650, 2, in the port of Araucan, the sky was clear.

Zhang Jinhua stood refreshed on the front deck of the "Tahiti" with almost no sense of shaking. The broken and winding mountain islands on both sides of the route into Araucan Bay (Admiral Monte Bay) were very good. The ground keeps the turbulent sea outside, which makes the Bay of Araucan shrouded in tranquility-it is really a good sheltered bay, even the expensive breakwaters required by normal harbors can be saved.

They have already stayed here for two days, and all the supplies needed for the long-distance voyage have been purchased. The three hundred Indian exiles have also boarded the ship and entered the compartment in the bilge. Now everything is ready, just waiting for departure.Zhang Jinhua looked at the shore, and the last few sailors were driving a large herd of cattle and sheep towards the big ship. They were going to ask the local Araucan people to buy livestock, and these livestock would be distributed to a total of four ships. , and then some were killed and eaten on the way to supplement fresh meat for the crew to improve their lives, and the rest would naturally be sent to the island of Tahiti.Since the people on the east coast want to set up a permanent supply base on the island, livestock is naturally indispensable.

The marina at the port of Araucan is changing every day.When Zhang Jinhua passed by this place last time, it was still full of desolation, but now there are not only a few more tall and straight two or three-story small buildings, but also a lot of cultivated land. It seems that the foundation has been established and it has a small scale .At this time, there was already a large-scale brick and tile wheel kiln factory, a lime factory and a cement factory, employing a large number of nearby Araucan people to work, and the building materials produced were not only supplied to the local area, but also the remaining It was also said to be exported to the Spanish Viceroyalty of Peru for foreign exchange.

It seems that the masonry and cement here are really rich.Zhang Jinhua counted casually, besides those small buildings, there were no less than fifteen tower-style windmills made of bricks and stones.Most of these windmills seem to be of Dutch and British style, with a rough appearance, but they are quite thick and sturdy in essence-this is also the consistent style of the people on the east coast.These windmills are scattered throughout the port of Araucan. Some of them are used to grind grain, some are used to lift water, and some windmills connected to large forging hammers can be used to forge cast iron and crush stones. All in all, they have different uses.

The violent westerly wind prevails in Port of Araucan and its surrounding areas all year round, and the wind speed can even reach tens of kilometers per hour in winter, which is amazing.With such abundant wind resources, it would be a fool not to make good use of them!Therefore, since the people from the east coast arrived here and the building materials were self-sufficient, the construction of thick, sturdy and tall tower windmills has become the most enthusiastic action of the Southern Railway Company.It is believed that with the passage of time, more and more windmills will appear in Port of Araucan—perhaps including Xingnan Port in the future—in and around the city, making this kind of thing that can effectively use natural wind resources a The symbol of the city.

Livestock were quickly distributed among the ships. Six Andalusian black cattle and a dozen East Coast bighorn sheep were also stuffed in the cabin of the "Tahiti". These livestock were hastily tied to some wooden posts in the cabin, and some smelly hay was spread on the ground , it seems that livestock has been kept here before.There are many wooden barrels piled up next to the place where the livestock are held, and several chef-like people are making kippers. These fresh Chilean horse mackerel were delivered by the Southern Railway Company this morning, and they are important food supplies for the sailors on their long voyages. , so it must be pickled immediately to prevent spoilage.

After all matters were dealt with, at ten o'clock in the morning, following Zhang Jinhua's order, the "Tahiti" took the lead in pulling anchor and setting sail, followed by three immigrant transport ships, which left the port of Araucan one by one, heading towards Next stop is the Galapagos Islands.Together with them, there were three fishing boats of the Southern Railway Company and two sail escort gunboats of the Navy.The cabins of two of the three fishing boats are full of various industrial products from the east coast, and the other is a refrigerated ship, and its cabin is filled with fresh horse mackerel - thanks to the "blessing" of the King of Spain, the Peruvians even Even fishing at sea is difficult, so they need to ask the Southern Railway Company to import a huge amount of seafood to meet their daily consumption.The poor Viceroyalty of Peru is sitting on one of the world's three largest fishing grounds in Peru, but it needs to import seafood from outsiders on the east coast. This has to be said to be a great irony.

In this way, as many as nine ships on the east coast formed a formation at sea, sailing all the way to the sea off central Chile along the strong Humboldt cold current and the occasional southeast wind.The three fishing boats of the Southern Railway Company turned to Maolin Port on the shore under the protection of the naval frigate, where they will berth secretly to conduct smuggling trade with the Spaniards; as for the immigration expedition team led by Zhang Jinhua, they will turn to the open sea Sailed a little to avoid a Spanish ship that might be encountered—albeit highly unlikely—and headed north with full power on, head covered.

On March 1650, 3, several ships sailed quietly into the Galapagos Islands off the coast of Peru.The temporary anchorage they chose this time is still Baquerizo Port in the northwest corner of San Cristobal Island. The last time people from the east bank arrived at this inaccessible place was in 9, when the battle between the east bank and Spain was in full swing. Lu Ming, the commander of the Navy's Pacific Temporary Task Force, commanded a number of main warships on the east coast, and firmly besieged the Spaniards in the port of Callao.And Bakeriso Port existed as a temporary supply base for the army and navy on the east coast at that time.

More than two years have passed, but it seems that the Spaniards still have no intention of developing the archipelago.The island is still in a wild atmosphere. The wooden houses built by the army officers and soldiers have been completely hidden in the lush vegetation. The sailors who landed even found a huge tortoise entrenched in a small wooden house. It seems to regard it as its own lair.

"The island is inaccessible, rich in products, and the climate is not hot at all, and it is not even short of water..." Zhang Jinhua, wearing long whale leather boots, boarded the island. The snake in the grass was nailed to the ground, and then advised Zhang Jinhua not to go deep into it for the time being, until they cleaned it up.

"The cool sea breeze takes away the humid and hot water vapor, and this area near the sea is quite cool. Many trees grow thick and look old, and they seem to be used to repair ships. This is a valuable asset Property..." Zhang Jinhua finally listened to the persuasion of his entourage, and did not go to the former army camp that had been covered by weeds, vines and shrubs, but he still kept looking around while carefully observing the island He said to himself: "What's even better is that there are few people here. Maybe few people have been to this island for tens of millions of years. It is isolated from the world and has a special environment. Many tropical diseases that are raging on the mainland are here. There's nothing here, like malaria!"

How terrible malaria is in the tropics, I believe whether it is the Spaniards, Portuguese, Dutch or East Coast people are very impressed.This unstoppable disease claimed the lives of pioneers almost every moment, so it was called "the curse of the tropics".But the Galapagos Islands are different. Although there are mosquitoes here, there have been no human habitation here for thousands of years, and it is an outlying island from the New World that has never produced malaria. Therefore, it can be said that there is no malaria at all. tropical "paradise of refuge".Moreover, as far as the last time the army troops were stationed here, the military doctors accompanying the army did not find anyone suffering from malaria.

That's precious!Think about it, what is the most afraid of the tropics?Malaria!Since there is no malaria in the Galapagos Islands, it is simply a perfect transit base for sailing. As long as some farmers, workers and soldiers are transported from the mainland, and strong fortresses and forts are built, then you can enjoy the Developing here, completely free from the "tropical curse", is there anything more ideal than this?

However, Zhang Jinhua knew that this was just thinking about it.After all, this place is still nominally the territory of the Kingdom of Spain, and people from the east coast have nothing to do with it.And at least in the short term, people from the east bank have no intention of setting up a transit base here, because the place is too sensitive and has already reached the gate of Lima.If the people from the east bank openly occupy this place, I believe that the Spaniards in the Viceroyalty of Peru are unwilling to do so, and they will completely turn against the people from the east coast under various pressures and threats. The rhythm of the three east-west wars.

So, for this archipelago that can be called a godsend, people on the east coast should stop thinking about it for the time being.It is enough to stop occasionally to replenish some fresh water, and other things are less.As for the establishment of a permanent settlement on this island, it is not impossible, but it must be built very secretly, deep in the hinterland of the island.There are dense forests and complex terrain, which can be somewhat concealed.But how does this benefit the East Coasters?It is not possible to repair ships, and it is more troublesome to supply, that is, it can only put some wounded and sick here to recuperate, which is really tasteless.The benefits are not big, but you have to take the risk of completely turning against the Spaniards and affecting the country's grand strategy, which is not something a wise man would take.

On March 1650, 3, after resting on the island for two days, four ships from the east coast set sail, left Baquerizo Harbor, and headed for the next destination, Tahiti.They left a few resident staff there last time, and they don't know what's going on now.

(End of this chapter)