Chapter 1,445 Heart of Darkness, Overwhelmed Africa
"Angel, did the Kingdom's navy that went south recently bring any news from the Kingdom?..."
"News? What do you mean?..."
"Ahem! For example, the situation in the kingdom, the changes in various governors...like the governor of Azores, has he reported anything..."
"The situation in the kingdom? Governor of the Azores?...No, I haven't heard of any changes! Bruno, I heard that you relied on the governor of Nuno. Do you know any inside stories about the nobles and the palace?"
"Ah...no. It's just...it's trade. It seems that the Azores Islands have also begun to produce cane sugar. Maybe we need...um...yes, maybe we need a group of plantation slaves! In addition, Manager Nuno also told me that Sierra Leone
The ivory products produced are simply perfect works of art! Especially the ivory horns that can be blown!…”
"Haha! That's it! Bruno, don't worry! Since it is the request of Manager Nuno, I will definitely send you a set of exquisite ivory utensils! The best ivory horn, ivory salt shaker, ivory spoon and comb... Well,
You have a share too!…”
The aristocratic mayor Miguel laughed loudly and looked extremely generous. However, the slight twitching of the corners of his mouth still revealed the pain in his heart.
In this Sierra Leone port connected to the inland of the river, the most valuable goods output are undoubtedly the ivory traded from the black-skinned tribes. In the early days, there may have been a small amount of placer gold, but after more than two decades of trading
, search for hundreds of miles around
The black-skinned tribes can no longer squeeze out gold. In fact, Sierra Leone’s ivory output is fixed every year. The trading station will share one-third of the profits, and the local garrison knights will also share one-third.
, there is not that much left for the Cintra family.
At this moment, he promised a set of exquisite ivory utensils for Steward Nuno, plus a set of ordinary ivory utensils for Bruno. If they could be shipped to the port of Lisbon and sold to merchants in Italian city-states, they would be able to earn more than a dozen
The gold coins are back! This simple promise resulted in the loss of more than a dozen gold coins!
However, although Miguel and the Cintra family behind him firmly control the position of the noble mayor of the port, they have de facto hereditary management rights over this colonial port in the southern continent... But this is a colony of the kingdom after all.
It is not a noble fiefdom of the Cintra family. Therefore, they do not have the legal principle of hereditary control of this port like the fiefdom of the world of God.
This means that he must manage the king's court inside and outside to keep the status quo of inheritance unchanged. At least, he cannot make the king dissatisfied, and may even pay the price of colonial turmoil to replace him...
On the other hand, the colony itself was very limited in terms of numbers and force. To survive and rule among the large and hostile black-skinned tribes, it was necessary to establish close contact with the navy of the Kingdom of Portugal. In this way, when encountering a large number of people,
When large-scale natives riot or attack, they can get naval support as quickly as possible!
"God bless you! Bruno, my brother! You must transfer my respect and gifts to the respected Steward Nuno! The Cintra family is one of the most loyal sailing families to the king. If the kingdom has the intention to explore the new continent
Plan, we are also happy to provide experienced manpower to participate!…”
"In addition, Brother Bruno, you have made great contributions to the kingdom by exploring the new Atlantic route. With the support of noble people, you will definitely bloom like an iris! If in the future, you can lead a kingdom navy fleet...then I will still
I have a proposal and goal that I have been observing for a long time!…”
"Just upstream of the Rockier River, about eight hundred miles away, there is a prosperous town in the Kingdom of Mali! It is said that there are hundreds of kilograms of gold in it, as well as bags of spices, ivory and gems! That is really a fortune
What an amazing wealth!…”
"Sierra Leone's colonies can mobilize a thousand troops if they are mobilized! It's just that we don't have enough ships, and there are relatively few reliable white regiments in the army... As long as we add ten caravels with guns and two to three hundred naval soldiers,
We can definitely destroy that Mali town in one fell swoop and make a fortune! When the time comes, we will be divided in half, six for me and four for you!…"
"!...In a town in Mali eight hundred miles away, there are hundreds of kilograms of gold, as well as bags of spices, ivory and gems?..."
Upon hearing such rich wealth, Bruno's eyes flashed, and uncontrollable greed surged in his heart, and even a hungry and murderous intention emerged.
Of course he knew about the declining and divided indigenous country of Mali deep in the interior. In fact, the Portuguese kingdom's plundering and slave-catching teams had fought many battles with the Malian tribes in the upper reaches of the Gambia River in the north. But he
Unexpectedly, in the Sierra Leone colony in the south, on the upper reaches of the Rockier River, we can also encounter the wealthy towns of the Malians. It seems that this inland indigenous country was once very powerful from south to north...
"Angel, there are only more than a thousand people in the port of Sierra Leone, and a white regiment of a hundred people is stationed... How can you pull out a thousand troops?"
"Haha! This is easy! Bruno, have you seen those mixed-race soldiers on patrol? Over the years, we have produced many mixed-race tribes... They are also Kingdom citizens who believe in God, and they are loyal and reliable Kingdom soldiers!"
Upon hearing this, Bruno turned around and stared at the situation on the street through the colonial city hall.
The colonial city hall is a two-story building with a red brick square roof. It is extremely thick and built like a small fortress. There are two white Portuguese guards stationed at the door of the city hall, and there are four high-level shooters on the top floor.
White musketeers. Around the city hall, there is a patrol team, ten people in total. The leading officer is white, and the remaining nine soldiers are all half-white and black-white.
"The Lord is witness! We have been exploring the port of Sierra Leone for twenty or thirty years... There are more than a thousand black and white mixed tribes around, all descendants of the Kingdom of Portugal, and they can provide a main force of two to three hundred people!"
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "With these mixed-blood regiments as the backbone, twice the number of dark-skinned servants can be recruited...Three parts put together, exactly one thousand people
!…”
"Oh! That's it! Tsk tsk, a garrison of a hundred people, plus one or two hundred men, creates a mixed tribe of one or two thousand people?... Angel, you are really... quite unrestrained on weekdays,
They are simply better than the Castilians who care about sheep, and they don’t give in too much!…”
"Haha! Bruno, in this land on the edge of the devil, death and curses are so common. No one knows how long they can live... Of course, you have to enjoy yourself in time like the Romans! Besides, you are not the one benefiting from these dark-skinned women.
I’ve never tasted it! Apart from being a bit dark, it feels almost the same as silk... and it’s very docile, so I can try different patterns..."
"This... Angel, this kind of dissolute style is not the traditional virtue of our Portuguese! If Captain Diogo was still alive, he would definitely have a straight face and reprimand us severely..."
"...Uh!...Dead Captain Diogo?"
Hearing Captain Diogo's name, Angel touched his nose unnaturally, and the expression on his face became solemn, losing the previous indulgence. Bruno next to him was thoughtful, looking around at the guarding people.
Guards. Those white people who were obviously born in the local area have a certain difference in demeanor that although it is not clear, it does exist.
In just one generation, the whites and mixed-race whites in the colonies have become significantly different from the native whites in the Kingdom of Portugal. This is still a West African colony that has frequent exchanges with the kingdom. If it is more distant overseas, it is like preparing to
The East African colonies established, or the New World colonies that may be established in the future... Then to what extent will this difference increase?
Bruno had no answer, nor could he think of these too-distant futures. He just squinted his eyes and carefully observed the port stronghold, recording the locations of various buildings from Lion Rock to the mouth of the river. This was not his first time.
I came here, but this time, it was different from the many times before!
He must learn how to establish a colonial stronghold so that he can be reused by the king and shoulder greater "responsibility and power" in the subsequent development and colonization of the New World!
"Built at the junction of rivers and seas, with sufficient water resources and river protection... It is best to rely on mountains and set up forts... If there is a peninsula terrain, it will be even more perfect!..."
"God bless you! The city hall and business station should also be built in the style of a fortress, and should be as compact as possible so that they can shoot and support each other!..."
In the early days of the Age of Exploration, the colonies established by the Kingdom of Portugal in Africa were all fortresses that valued defense. They were large and small forts made of wood and stone. And the army in each colony was composed of white people.
Soldiers are the core and officers, and soldiers of mixed descent are the main force, plus a varying number of levies or cannon fodder from local tribes.
Just like the port of Sierra Leone, after 20 to 30 years of colonial development, there are now more than 100 white soldier regiments and more than 200 mixed-race main battalions, commanded by white officers. But once they encounter the natives,
In tribal wars, the Portuguese would take out their 300 headquarters, and then draw about twice as many tribal servants, that is, five to six hundred people, from the native tribes that had formed alliances, conquered, and converted to God.
If the enemy is relatively weak, the Portuguese will use their headquarters to lead the servant army, take the initiative to launch an attack, and use the servant army as a vanguard. If the enemy is strong, the Portuguese headquarters will shrink behind the fortress defense line, and then fill up the servant army.
Enter the first-line camp and stalemate with the attacking tribe. At the same time, let the superior Portuguese navy attack, bombard, harass or plunder the enemy's retreat...
This is the stronghold warfare method of European colonists. They build castles and trading stations along the way, arrange to garrison troops respectively, and then connect them together with a powerful navy!
More than ten years ago, in the declining and divided Mali Empire, the Gambian "Fama" once had real power. His crusade became more and more rampant, and he robbed slave-catching "Crossers" everywhere. He sent a tribal army of two to three thousand people.
, including two hundred cavalry, besieged the Portuguese coastal stronghold in Gambia.
However, more than 2,000 people besieged the trading station barracks with 3 to 400 people. They fought for two months, but they could not be conquered. When more than ten large sailing ships of the Portuguese navy gathered and came, the ship's naval guns fired fierce volleys.
This tribal army besieging the city along the coast suffered heavy casualties, was defeated, and was chased for dozens of miles along the river...
It can be said that once the colonists successfully established themselves and built fortresses on these coastal Portuguese colonial strongholds, it became very difficult to attack them! If the Portuguese navy was not eliminated, or at least the opponent's navy's attack and supply capabilities were restricted, then the fortresses would be besieged.
The time and labor costs will be unimaginably high, several times or ten times that of the other party's construction!
"Haha! Brother Bruno, what are you looking at?... This is what the port looks like. More than ten years have passed, but there are only a few more buildings... On the contrary, around the port, there are many more villages that have converted to the Lord!
The black-skinned tribes in the interior were severely beaten, and tribes continued to flee here, becoming tribes and villages under our control!…”
"Come! Bruno, my good brother! To celebrate your return from exploring new routes and your achievements in discovering the New World!...Brother, I will treat you well!...Come here, bring five tribal girls, the ones I selected before.
Those few!…”
"Haha! Bruno, I haven't touched these five mixed-race beauties yet, but they are all yours! How about this, with such a figure, she is no worse than those gypsy girls?... Think about it, you narrowly escaped death this time,
What’s the use of all those rules, doctrines and morals? For example, the Knight of Silvera, he didn’t even get married, so he died overseas, on a voyage..."
"Carpe diem! Aproveite o dia! Seize today, carpe diem!...Haha! Carpe diem, leave more heirs! Brother Bruno, why can't you let go? Oh! Then I'm leaving, you enjoy yourself, remember brother
Just my treat!…Hahaha!”
Angel laughed loudly, walked out of the living room, and asked the guard to close the door. The moment the door closed, the indulgent laugh on Angel's face disappeared in an instant, leaving only his gloomy and cold thoughts.
.
"The blessing of the Lord is truly mysterious! Bruno, a captain from an ordinary background, was able to come back alive from exploring the Atlantic Ocean and brought back news of the New World? Gee, it seems that his future will be more than that of an ordinary captain.
, there are more than one royal knight, worthy of my efforts to win over!…"
"As for the future...the new continent in the Atlantic Ocean, the yellow-skinned native tribes, the development of new colonies?...Hmm..."
Angel squinted his eyes and looked at the sunset in the west. He didn't speak for a long time. Beside him were white-skinned guards, mixed-race soldiers with strict bloodlines. Behind him, in the closed door, there was a sound.
The men's roars and the girls' cries are like Africa being knocked down by the European continent, engraved with the oppression and cruelty of civilization!
