Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 965 Crisis and Mediation ([-])

"We have occupied Pernambuco, and all the sugar cane plantations in Brazil and the sugar mills in the city are in our hands. We can use this to get rid of the control of the Dutch and make more profits. More What's more, we now have an advantage on the battlefield. If we block the coast of Recife, the Dutch will not be able to obtain enough supplies, then sooner or later we will make a breakthrough on the battlefield and win everything." Sugar tycoon Vieira He suddenly retorted, "Borrowing a saying that you people from the east coast often say, the winner takes all, isn't it?"

Joao Fernandez Vieira's words aroused the echo of the Portuguese, which made Gao Mo smile coldly in his heart.This group of Portuguese was really dazzled by successive victories, and they wanted to completely drive the Dutch out of Brazil, and then monopolize this vast land.

It's no wonder that who made the Dutch West India Company grow bigger and bigger over the years, so big that they now have neither the energy nor the financial resources nor the manpower to maintain everything in Brazil.You know, they occupied half of Brazil in their heyday, but since the Portuguese became independent from Spain, their good days have come to an end.

First, the Dutch themselves began to cut funds to die, and then they invaded the land of Portuguese immigrants for immigrants from the Netherlands, and then forced the implementation of Dutch education, exclusion of Catholicism, and increased taxes. A series of things that made early Portuguese immigrants extremely disgusted. All this made the Portuguese in the Dutch-occupied area want to return to King Joao's command.

And after an epidemic weakened the Dutch, the idea was soon put into action: João Fernández Vieira, a sugar tycoon born in Recife, began to contact the Portuguese authorities, And organized an armed riot to overthrow the Dutch rule.

After the uprising broke out, the cowardly Brazilian colonial authorities first waited and watched for a long time. After confirming that the Dutch invaders had been exhausted by successive armed riots, they began to directly intervene in this battlefield under the local instructions. They gave the rebels They dispatched military instructors, transported weapons and ammunition, and finally organized a group of small-scale troops transferred from Europe to directly participate in the battle-but the main force fighting the Dutch has always been the tame Indians and black armed forces.

The battle has continued to this day, and the Dutch have less and less territory, and now there is only this small piece of coastal land under the jurisdiction of General Pernambuco, and most of the rest have been occupied by the Portuguese.However, this last small area is not so easy to chew. First of all, the Dutch have shrunk the line of defense and were able to transfer their limited troops back to concentrated defense; secondly, they have also built a large number of solid defense facilities nearby. This is not the Portuguese. It was recovered in a short period of time (after adding a large number of artillery on the east coast, the power of these defense facilities can be said to be even higher); in the end, their foreign aid at sea has not been completely cut off. Historically, the Portuguese relied on coming from the mainland. The fleet defeated the Dutch, blocked the entire coast of General Pernambuco's jurisdiction, and then attacked on land for several months, which forced the discouraged Dutch to surrender.

But now the Dutch have placed a large number of artillery arrived from the east coast, and various supplies are also kept sufficient under the transport of ships on the east coast. The morale and confidence of the defenders are much stronger than that of the same period in history. It seems unlikely that the Dutch army will be defeated and Pernambuco recovered in the short term.

"There will be no winners. The Dutch army outside the city of Recife and Olinda is ready for battle. Their supplies are sufficient and their morale is strong. It is not easy for anyone to defeat them." Gao Mo considered his words and finally decided to give this Partner with the Portuguese to be ruthless, lest they still have some unrealistic fluke mentality: "In addition, our government has decided to send some naval ships into the Gulf of Recife to maintain local security and order, and protect the lives of our businessmen." safety of life and property."

As soon as Gao Mo said this, it caused a commotion among the Portuguese. Blanco Almeida wanted to stand up and say something, but was stopped by the angry Vieira.The people on the east bank are now making it clear that they want to sideline the situation, so what can you do?Who doesn't know that the East Coast Republic has only three or five businessmen in Recife, and their property is even more meager, but they are so self-willed. If they want to send warships into Recife to help the Dutch defend them, what can you do? ?Based on the local geographical environment of Recife, once such warships equipped with a large number of long-barreled artillery come in, the land offensive will become much more difficult.

But the people on the east coast do it well.In this era of Europe, due to Portugal's weak national strength, the Dutch, Spaniards, and British slapped them in the face whenever they wanted to. They didn't even bother to find a reason, and they didn't worry about the Portuguese taking personal revenge afterwards. It can be said that they were very arrogant.This guy from the east coast seems to have a little more face, and he would find a bad excuse to protect the expatriates, but the robber is still a robber no matter how gentlemanly he is, this will never change, the people from the east coast are determined to intervene in Brazil Given the current situation, the Portuguese have to think carefully about how to deal with it—among other things, they should "please go" the warships on the east coast wandering off the coast of Brazil first, right?

Now that the main fleet of the mainland has not yet arrived, the fleet strength of the Brazilian colonial authorities is not enough to challenge the local maritime hegemony of the people on the east coast. Thinking of breaking the military blockade implemented by the navy on the east coast in the name of investigating smuggling and catching pirates, I am afraid that it will be more difficult. Work on the diplomatic level.Otherwise, many towns along the coast of Brazil would not be able to receive materials and immigrants from the Old World, and the specialty commodities produced in towns (wood, dyes, tobacco, cocoa, cotton, leather, sugar, etc.) There will be some problems in the operation of Brazil's economic system, which are unbearable for businessmen and manor owners who are addicted to money.

"Does your government not consider His Majesty King Joao's feelings? To be honest, these years of economic and trade exchanges have established a deep relationship between us. I remember that at the beginning of our difficult moments, it was your selfless offer to We sold a large number of cheap and good muskets, armor and cannon, which enabled us to withstand the fierce offensive of the Dutch West India Company, and after we gained a foothold, we gradually counterattacked and recovered a lot of lost ground. We could have been friends forever Keep going, but now your actions are betraying your friends, please stop this kind of behavior that hurts your friends..." Seeing that Gao Mo had already uttered harsh words, Blanco stood up after making eye contact with Vieira , played the emotional card from another angle, and seemed to want to persuade the people on the east coast not to get involved in this war in this way.

"The Chinese government has our own considerations." Gao Mo replied, confident that he no longer had the "calcium deficiency disease" (in Army language) 15 years ago, and his words were also stiff: "Furthermore, since After you stopped the trade between Brazil and the east coast for no reason, the friendship has come to an end. I have no intention of arguing who is right and who is wrong between the two sides. I just want to say that our navy will be around for a long time Seizing smuggling and arresting pirates, as for when it will end, it depends on when normal trade between Brazil and the east coast resumes."

Gao Mo felt that what he said was really incompetent. Nima originally wanted to find some high-sounding words to decorate the facade, but he didn't expect to express his intention directly with such threatening words in the end. Apparently a little pricey.But this is not a big deal. The Portuguese should now be aware of the intention of the East Coast Fleet to block their coast. As for how they respond, this is their own business.

Although it is a bit uncomfortable for the east bank to be cut off from ship materials and cotton, it is not insurmountable. The cotton produced by the east bank and the part exported by New China have already accounted for [-]% of the total annual cotton demand. With the addition of cotton produced in Florida, Georgia, and the West Indies (which can only be snapped up at a high price) and some stocks, it can almost last for a while, and during this time, they have a hundred ways to force the Portuguese to submit.

Although it has entered late autumn, the foreheads of many Portuguese people in the room are still slightly sweaty, and the atmosphere in the room is also a little dignified.The Portuguese were very angry. They wanted to accuse the people on the east coast of favoring the Dutch, and they wanted to say that they were so arrogant that they blockaded a colony of a glorious empire without restraint, but after a thousand words rushed to their throats, They were all swallowed abruptly, so aggrieved!

Situation is stronger than people!Once the East Coast Fleet came, immigrants from the Old World couldn't get in, all kinds of materials from the Old World (including vital weapons and ammunition) couldn't get in, and all kinds of priceless specialties from the New World couldn't be shipped out.Even some towns that cannot provide food for themselves may fall into famine (because of the low degree of land development and poor transportation conditions, they rely more on sea transportation), which undoubtedly greatly shakes the confidence and will of the Portuguese.

"Or, let's wait until the main fleet from Lisbon arrives before making calculations? Now let the people on the east coast take a step forward and let them withdraw the damn warships. First, Brazil's foreign traffic will be fully restored. Otherwise, it will take a long time. If the blockade continues, there will be big problems sooner or later.” Some people are already thinking about what to do, and Vieira, a wealthy sugar tycoon, is one of them.

Gao Mo sat comfortably on the chair and looked at the Portuguese with a blank expression.He felt that these Portuguese were frightened by the decisive action of the East Coast Navy. They originally wanted to cut off trade as a protest, but who would have thought that the reaction of the East Coast people would be so violent, and it would be hard for them to get off the horse.But now is the time for them to make a choice, is it a temporary reconciliation, or a full-scale confrontation that will go all the way to the dark?The decision seemed easy to make.

(End of this chapter)