Chapter 1,443 Lion Rock Port, News from the New World!
July 1494, the coast of West Africa, the mouth of the Rokel River, and the port of Cenarion Lion Rock.
The coast of Sierra Leone has verdant tropical jungles and towering peninsula mountains. The coastal beaches are fine and white, dotted with patches of tall coconut trees and palm trees. Near the coast, raging freshwater rivers resemble small waterfalls.
Like pouring into the Atlantic Ocean, the water is very clear, with a slightly earthy red color.
This is the warm and humid West African coast, with primitive and wild beautiful scenery, surrounded by Portuguese-style trestle ports, wooden trading stations and stone fortresses. The location of this Lion Rock port is surrounded by the sea on three sides and mountains on one side. To the north of the port,
To the east is a large river that surrounds it, allowing people to trade with the black-skinned tribes thousands of miles inland along the river. To the west of the port is the sea, and to the south is the dangerous Lion Rock. Surrounded by the peninsula mountains, it has formed a natural deep-water port.
There is no doubt that this is a port location that is extremely safe, easy to defend, and has very convenient waterways. Its only flaw is that it is relatively small in area and has little potential for expansion.
Thirty-two years ago, the Portuguese captain Pedro de Sintra, who first explored this coast, saw the special location of this peninsula port at a glance, and clearly suggested it in a letter to the former King Alfonso.
This is a "good harbor".
However, the West African coast explored by Portugal was extremely vast. The focus of the kingdom's management was the Cape Verde Islands discovered during the same period, the gold-rich coast of Ghana, and the banks of the Gambia River where the climate was more suitable for colonization.
As for the development and establishment of the Lion Rock Port, it was entrusted to the big businessman Fernán Gomez through the signing of an agreement. The business group paid for it and hired landless farmers and poor citizens to develop the land and look for trade goods.
; A small army provided by the royal family, established
The camp and fortress were responsible for the defense of the stronghold; the sailing nobles then sent their family descendants and manpower to participate in administrative management. The merchants, the royal family, and the nobles shared the cost of establishing the colony through express treaties and agreements, and shared the commerce and trade brought by colonization.
Land interests!
Like the current Lion Rock Port, the person in charge of the port comes from the descendants of the seafaring nobles, the trading station is operated by the Chamber of Commerce, and the defense of the fortress is provided by the royal garrison. Whether it is a "vibrant" private business group or a "fiefdom expansion"
The local nobles were deeply involved in the colonial activities led by the Portuguese royal family.
This model of European colonial development is not only spread across the already expanded West African coast, but will also advance little by little to India and the East with the exploration of the Portuguese. And even the subsequent Castilians, Dutch, and English
, it is through this kind of "public-private partnership" that the official and private forces of the entire kingdom are fully mobilized and invested in the development of overseas colonial undertakings...
"God bless! Cenarion! It's Cenarion! It's the mountain of lions!…"
"Holy Mother! We have really arrived at the coast of West Africa and the port of the kingdom!..."
"Praise the Father in heaven! The brand-new jungle continent is so close to the coast of West Africa? It was only a month and a half against the wind, and there were several days of windless zones... We sailed from the eastern end of the jungle continent to the southern continent.
West Coast?!…”
"Haha! It seems that my guess is indeed right! The Jungle Continent is a vast new continent, and the distance to the Southern Continent is much closer than everyone imagined! ... Praise the Lord! ..."
The long wind blowing from the sea pushed a dilapidated Caravel sailboat towards the not-so-large Lion Rock Port. Captain Bruno stood on the mottled and dilapidated bow of the ship, raising his head and laughing happily, even overflowing with laughter.
He burst into tears! The sailors around him also cried with joy, cheering and howling. This voyage to explore the Atlantic Ocean was a narrow escape from death. It was really not easy!
The Portuguese exploration fleet set out at the end of September last year. After a series of Caribbean attacks, it arrived at the dreamy island of Haiti in February this year. The initial dream was of shining gold, full of gold and pearls, and everyone
They were all filled with the ecstasy of getting rich! Until that dangerous night, the fleet attacked by the natives arrived unexpectedly, bringing devilish killing and flames...
After that nightmare raid, the exploration fleet of two ships with 50 people at the time of departure was left with only eight people on one ship! But the captain Bruno abandoned all illusions and directly chose to return.
They returned along the original route and sailed for a week before escaping to the edge of the "Caribbean Islands". When the sailing ship passed by a newly discovered "Island of Valor" (Puerto Rico), they were deceived, recruited, and captured.
Six docile Taino natives boarded the ship, supplementing the crew to 14 people.
At this time, counting the guide "Sweetie", half of the native sailors on the ship were already half. Bruno showed great kindness at this time, and was more friendly and peaceful than ever. He personally came forward to patiently comfort these new harvests.
The native sailors even converted six of them and wore wooden cross amulets.
Further back, the flagship headed straight south, passing by the dangerous "Caribbean Islands". By the time we reached the southern jungle continent full of trees, it was already early March.
"God bless us! We are finally safe and have escaped the pursuit of the Sipangu devil tribe and the barbarian tribes of the Caribbean! We will camp at the mouth of the river, repair the sailboat, and then head east!"
Bruno breathed a sigh of relief and anchored at the mouth of the Jungle Continent. While everyone was collecting food, they were repairing the ship, especially the stern where a big gap had been blown out.
In order to repair the broken ship, all the crew members must participate in logging and carpentry work. The smart Susui was especially hard-working. He was repeatedly scolded by the old carpenter Ivo and instilled a lot of carpentry skills in ship repair, and he directly became a
A boatman's apprentice...
This stay lasted for two full months! It was not until the beginning of May that the rough repairs of the damaged Portuguese Caravel sailing ship were completed, and enough food was collected on board. Captain Bruno couldn't wait and drove the sailing ship eastward along the jungle.
The coast of South America, looking for the eastern end of the continent...
Then, this route lasted for more than a month! The vastness of the jungle continent exceeded everyone's initial imagination! Everyone started from the mouth of the Orinoco River at 8 degrees north latitude, all the way along the southeastern coastline. They totaled
After sailing for an estimated 5,000 kilometers, passing through the mouth of the extremely majestic Amazon River, we arrived at the eastern end of the jungle continent. At about 5 degrees south latitude, we saw the continental coastline turning to the southwest...
At this point, the towering and continuous Brazilian plateau appeared in the eyes of European explorers for the first time! Bruno and his party were too small in number, and had been "attacked by barbaric tribes" many times, and had "unforgettable and painful experiences". They were cautious along the way.
, and no longer communicated with the "Amazon tribes", the "Eastern Brazilian Tupi tribes", or even any native tribes along the way.
Until finally, they arrived at the cape at the end of the east, where they anchored again for a few days and erected an explorer's wooden pillar. The wooden pillar was engraved with Portuguese characters, symbolizing the occupation of this place by the Kingdom of Portugal.
"God bless you! This vast land is the overseas territory dedicated to the great King Joao! And this cape at the end of the east is named 'Cape San Roque' (Cape) in the name of Saint Roque, the saint of the kingdom.
S?o Roque)!...O the Holy Father and the Holy Spirit in heaven! I pray to Him for the final triumphant return!..."
After the last prayer, Captain Bruno took a dozen crew members, including half of the Taino sailors, and sailed away from the coast of Brazil and headed towards the northeastern ocean. In the following one-month voyage, the sea winds continued to change, not only
Half of the time there was a headwind, and there were even periods of calm and light winds for several days.
Fortunately, the entire Caravel sailboat is hung with a jib that can sail semi-upwind, and the most experienced sailors are constantly making complicated sail adjustments. Although the speed of the ship cannot be increased, it can still maintain stability.
We did not encounter any terrible sea storms...
It was not until after a month of sailing northeast that they returned from 5 degrees south latitude to 8 degrees north latitude. The desolate West African coast, together with the running elephants, lions and hyenas, finally appeared in front of them!
"Merciful Lord! Full of compassion and blessings, He allowed us to move from the jungle continent of the yellow-skinned tribe to the southern continent of the dark-skinned tribe... And the distance between these two continents is only three or four thousand kilometers!
This is truly an unimaginable miracle! The vast New World is actually just southwest of the West African coast, three to four thousand kilometers away?!..."
Captain Bruno calculated the sailing distance for this month. Although he had expected it, he was still surprised from ear to ear. The discovery of a brand-new continent is still so close...the prospect of colonization and the wealth of land contained in this.
, enough to shock the entire Kingdom of Portugal! And he, the discoverer, will surely gain unimaginable achievements and rewards from the exploration and colonization of the New World, and even benefit his family's descendants, just like the previous explorers!
"Woo! Woo!..."
The loud horn sounded from the camp on Lion Rock, representing some kind of warning and communication. The port of Lion Rock is limited in size, with only about three to four hundred Portuguese whites, plus a larger number of mixed descendants and converted black people. So, this
It was just a colonial town with a population of about a thousand people, without the bell tower of large European towns. Soon, two offshore dhows, each carrying two 2-pound guns, sailed out of the port and approached the explorer with the Portuguese flag.
Boat.
“God bless you! You are one of our own!…”
After the approach was confirmed, both dhows hoisted safety flags and escorted the "royal exploration vessel" on both sides. When the flagship docked towards the port pier, Captain Bruno finally breathed a sigh of relief. He
He raised his arms, was the first to jump onto the trestle, and shouted to the remaining Portuguese sailors with a smile!
"Praise the Virgin! Praise the Holy Father! Brothers, we are finally home! We have returned to our port in the Kingdom of Portugal and are completely safe!"
"Everyone can indulge for two days! Black-skinned women, banana wine and barbecue delicacies! Go and have fun! Everyone's consumption in these two days will be counted on my head, Bruno!..."
"Go! Let's go and be happy! Don't worry about me... I have to go to the city hall at the port to meet the noble mayor here!..."
