Chapter One Thousand Seventy-Two: The voyage in 1492 AD, the finances on the verge of bankruptcy, and the proposal passed twice!
"The Lord witnesses! Sir Alonso, did you persuade Captain Juan de la Cosa to take the Santa Maria and participate in this voyage?..."
"Blessed Mother! Father Talavera, this is Juan's own decision. Of course, I did communicate with him in advance. The Crusades on the peninsula have ended, and the royal family owes huge loans to the Roman Church and the Republic of Venice.
To repay...opening up a new shipping route in the Atlantic Ocean may be a solution!..."
"Sir Alonso, the Royal Commission has already reviewed the last voyage proposal. The new Eurasian route to the Atlantic Ocean is far more than 4-5 thousand kilometers, but four times the distance! Such a remote and unpredictable new route is by no means
It can be developed in a short period of time! In order to support Columbus's voyage, the royal family has to spend about 5,000 gold ducats, which is a full 2 million Malawedi copper coins..."
"Ahem! Father Talavera, you understand that 5,000 gold ducats are nothing compared to the 500,000 gold ducats the kingdom owes. What's more, we don't need to take out any cash.
You can directly recruit ships, manpower and supplies from various coastal towns...Many towns have not paid the increased taxes for the Crusade, and they really can't get the money..."
The bright light fell from the magnificent dome, as if it was the light given by God. But under the light, many nobles and priests of the kingdom did not discuss the sacred faith or the missionary opening of the new route... They were deeply involved in money.
In the quagmire of desire and quagmire, they argued about money figures one after another, making no secret of their desire for wealth.
At this time, the Castilian royal family was also like a traveler who had fallen into a deep pit, mired in huge war debts. Queen Isabella's empty treasury, and heavy loan documents,
It is a direct manifestation of financial difficulties.
Auditor General Sir Alonso turned his head cautiously and glanced at Queen Isabella who was deep in thought. Then, he lowered his voice, leaned towards the Queen's confessor Talavera, and spoke sincerely.
"Father Talavera! Even if Columbus's voyage never returns this time, the royal family will only lose the ships and manpower recruited from various towns... But as long as there is a discovery during the voyage in the Atlantic, even a transit island,
Just like Cape Verde in the hands of the Portuguese... they can mortgage 100,000 or more gold ducats to the Church of Rome and the Republic of Venice!... After all, it is a transit island for the new western route!
The future value is completely immeasurable..."
The Crusader Holy War in the southern part of the peninsula lasted for ten years from February 1482 to January 1492. The Holy War of the United Kingdom of Castile and Aragon, plus other countries that prepared their own dry food
Holy war knights and attendants, hired HRE and Italian mercenaries... The Crusaders in the peninsula once amounted to more than 100,000 people! The standing army maintained daily was at least 60,000 in size, and maintained more than 10,000 cavalry before it was destroyed.
And conquered the Moorish Kingdom of Granada with a population of two million!
The logistical distance between these 50,000 jihadi infantry and 10,000 jihadi cavalry is close to about a thousand miles, one-third of which is in the difficult mountains of Granada. The logistics consumption of materials and property in the war alone is a terrifying
The astronomical figures. Not to mention the salaries and pensions of the army during the war, the annual expenditures of mercenaries, the plagues and diseases encountered, and the losses of those long and difficult sieges...
Excessive army mobilization, long war time, difficult logistical support, and sudden plague disasters... This series of encounters in the Holy War were completely devastating to the finances of the two Spanish kingdoms!
The reason why this ten-year holy war can persist is the financial loans and blood transfusions of the Roman Church and the Republic of Venice... The debts that can be borrowed must always be repaid. At least the two kingdoms currently have
He did not have the ability to tear up the IOUs from Rome and Venice, the two big creditors, based on his strength...
At this moment, in 1492, the end of the war, the Castilian royal family, as the main force of the Holy War, already owed a debt of at least 700,000 gold ducats to the Roman Church and the Republic of Venice. The Aragonese royal family was much better off, with the debt owed to the Church of Rome and the Republic of Venice.
The scale is about less than 200,000 gold ducats...
Of course, with the guarantee of the Roman Church, the interest on these jihad debts was very low, less than 10%. Compared with other loans of the same era, this number is really not high. But multiplied by the terrifying amount of 100,000, Cass
The interest that the Tilian royal family has to pay every year is at least 60,000 to 70,000 gold ducats. And this huge number is several times the measly financial income of Castile. It is completely insolvent.
The more you owe, the more you pay.
The annual debt interest of the Royal Family of Aragon is 20,000 gold ducats. The financial revenue of the Kingdom of Aragon is healthier. It squeezes more from all aspects, squeezes more hard-working farmers and craftsmen, and confiscates and levies more small nobles and small monasteries.
property, no matter how many pagans and Jews are burned to death... we can still repay the debt.
"The debt of 700,000 gold ducats is equal to the loot and ransom of 200,000 gold ducats looted throughout Granada... Now there is still a debt of 500,000 gold ducats, with an annual interest rate of 10%, and 50,000 gold ducats have to be repaid a year.
10,000 interest…”
"No! After I become the Archbishop of Granada this year, I will immediately try and clean up the Moorish pagans in Andalusia and confiscate all the property of the pagans...at least I can squeeze out another 200,000 gold ducats.
The royal family’s debt has been reduced to 300,000 yuan!… In this way, with the annual interest of 30,000 yuan, there is still a way to pay it off…”
Father Hernando de Talavera lowered his eyes and suppressed the boiling murderous desire for the heretics in his heart. He is the closest confessor to Queen Isabella, and also the father of the Church of Rome and the Kingdom of Castile.
Jointly appointed, the first Archbishop of Granada.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! As the most pious "servant of God", he will never be merciful to the pagans. And the royal finance of Castile, which is on the verge of bankruptcy, will never be merciful.
He will not be allowed to show mercy to the infidels!
"Witness the Lord! I originally invited Columbus to support his sailing proposal because I thought that the new route he calculated was really only 4-5 thousand kilometers... In this way, with only one or two years of investment in exploration, we would be able to have the same new voyage as the Portuguese
The return of the route has greatly improved the Queen's finances... You know, the Queen has mortgaged all the crowns and jewelry passed down by the royal family!..."
Father Talavera glanced at the resolute and heroic Queen, and silently lowered his eyes. Thousands of thoughts emerged in his mind, and finally turned into an indifferent glance, looking at Columbus who was anxious in front of the navigation chart.
"This stupid and stubborn navigator miscalculated the distance of the new route, which made me happy in vain! According to the calculation of the Navigation Committee, the navigation distance is four times...I am afraid that it is definitely not a year or two of exploration investment.
It can bring direct returns... This is why I turned down his proposal..."
"But according to Sir Alonso, even if the new Atlantic route does not succeed, and only one or two islands are found on the way, they can be mortgaged to the Roman Church and the Republic of Venice... After all, the new route opened by the Kingdom of Portugal is of great significance to
The stimulus from the Roman Church and the Republic of Venice is too great! Especially the Venetians, who have controlled the spice trade and coinage for a long time, are facing serious challenges from the Portuguese..."
"Lord, witness! This is indeed an opportunity to repay the debt! It is safer than crossing the strait and attacking the pagan kingdom across the sea... No, we can still attack the other side of the strait on a small scale, at least to defeat the bankrupt Crusaders.
Carry all the knights over there! Let them harm the Moorish country across the sea, or die there, so as not to ruin the wealth of the Kingdom of Castile..."
Father Talavera pondered for a long time, his eyes flickering. He glanced at the Queen's Auditor-General, Sir Alonso, who had a "sincere" look on his face, and then at the King's Financial Advisor Sir Louis, who had a "cunning" smile, and suddenly spoke out
asked.
"Alonso, suddenly called Columbus back, proposed the voyage again, and then used the general trend to persuade me to compromise... This is not like your style!... Is it Sir Louis's idea? The king can benefit from the voyage.
What benefits are gained?…”
"Well…"
Hearing this, Sir Alonso was stunned for a moment and nodded gently. He was also a little unsure about this question and could only speak hesitantly.
"The benefits of the king... are probably more to get a good reputation for supporting navigation, and to prevent Columbus from lobbying the French! After all, the king needs a good reputation more than the queen. And once the Atlantic exploration really discovers something, those
Most of the honor and fame will belong to the king who initiated and supported it..."
"What's more, the three ships and manpower that supported Columbus's voyage were all provided by Castile, and the Kingdom of Aragon only provided some logistical supplies..."
"What! Alonso, how did you talk to Luis? Most of the cost of this exploration was borne by us in Castile?...How can this be? This cunning Luis!..."
"Ahem! Holy King and Queen, respected nobles of the kingdom, respected scholars, please be quiet for a moment!..."
The two were arguing when a gentle and friendly voice suddenly sounded. Father Talavera stared angrily, watching the "cunning" Sir Louis stand up and walk quickly to Columbus. With a warm smile on his face,
First, he bowed to everyone and saluted. Then, he pulled Columbus and asked the "Queen's Great Navigator" to bow his head and salute to everyone.
"Praise the Lord! He cares for us mercifully, and we are favored by God..."
As Sir Louis saluted, the noisy Abensalah Hall gradually became quiet. Everyone may not care about the non-existent face of civilian Columbus, but the face of Sir Louis, the king's financial adviser, must still be given.
"The Lord is a witness! Do you, the noble kings, nobles and scholars, have any objections to the voyage proposal of the navigator Columbus?"
At this moment, in the face of Sir Louis' inquiry, everyone's expressions changed slightly. But after waiting for a while, no one finally raised any objections. Even the royal scholar Pedro, who bluntly objected last time, still has status.
The venerable confessor Talavera nodded clearly in agreement, even if the amplitude of the nod was small.
"Very good! Praise the Lord! The voyage proposal of Columbus, the navigator, is approved!..."
"Ah? Ah this! My proposal... passed?! Thank you, Queen Isabella! You are the most sacred, purest, most beautiful, and most pious saint! ...Uh, thank you too, Fernando
king…"
With a smile on his face, Sir Louis once again pulled Columbus and bowed elegantly to Queen Isabella and King Fernando. Then, he looked at Columbus, who looked confused and was so happy that he was talking nonsense.
said with a smile.
"Congratulations! The Queen's Great Navigator, honor Your Excellency Columbus! You have been unanimously recognized by the Queen and the King!... Next, maybe we should close the door and have a good talk. What are the benefits after you discovered the new route?
