Al Hoceima, Morocco, southern coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
It was now summer, and the entire Mediterranean region was very hot, and Al Hoceima was no exception. The sea breeze from the Mediterranean made people drowsy, so much so that Raul, the lookout at the lighthouse at the Al Hoceima port, couldn't help but yawn again and again.
Raul picked up a handful of water and rinsed his face. He suddenly became more awake.
Looking down at the Al Hoceima Port below, there are many ships in the port and it is extremely busy.
The black slaves snatched from West Africa are constantly loading and unloading goods to the ships in the port. Among them are ivory, diamonds, gems and other valuable goods from West Africa. These are the things that the Ming people on the West Island like best. Of course, they can also directly
Sold to Egypt.
There are a large number of Ming merchants in Egypt. It is said that the Egyptian canal is about to be dug. By then, ships will be able to go directly to the rich east through the Egyptian canal.
In addition to these valuable goods from West Africa, you can also see that the port here is full of slave ships, and a large number of slaves are queuing up to board the ships, ready to be transported to the West Island.
People in the Ming Dynasty liked white slaves, so the price of white slaves was higher than that of black slaves, especially the price of female white slaves, which often allowed slave traders to make huge profits.
This time, several slave ships arrived at Al Hoceima Port, preparing to transport the white female slaves that Spain obtained through various shady means in North Africa to the Western Islands for sale to the Ming Dynasty.
Raul seemed to be able to see the scene when the slave traders got a box of Ming silver coins. It was indeed an intoxicating thing.
Hoceima is very close to the Spanish mainland, less than 400 miles away.
It was originally a land belonging to the Ottoman Empire, but the declining Ottoman Empire was obviously unable to take care of the distant North African region, allowing the powerful Spaniards to occupy it. It became a Spanish colony and an important colonial stronghold that plundered North Africa, Morocco, and neighboring Algeria.
A large number of merchant ships transporting goods and slaves from West Africa would anchor here for replenishment and rest. At the same time, Spanish ships returning from the West Islands or Egypt would also anchor here.
Therefore, there are not only a large number of ships in the Al Hoceima port that are full of goods heading to the West Sea Islands or Egypt, but also a large number of merchant ships returning from Egypt and the West Sea Islands, laden with large amounts of goods from the Ming Dynasty or gold and silver treasures.
The superior geographical location allowed the Port of Hoceima to develop rapidly. In just a few years, it has become Spain's most important colonial stronghold in North Africa, bringing tens of millions of taels of silver wealth to Spain every year.
.
"Maybe I should consider changing my job~"
"Although the job of a watchman is comfortable, it does not make you rich."
Raul looked at the busy port and wondered whether he should change his job. After all, Spain was becoming more and more prosperous and powerful during this period, and there were many opportunities to make money.
The income of being a seaman and a sailor is quite considerable.
I habitually picked up the telescope and looked out at the sea. Between the water and the sky, with the scorching sun, the sea seemed to be steaming. The mast of a ship could be seen in the haze, and then soon...
You can clearly see the patterns on the huge canvas of the sailboat.
The huge black skull is extremely eye-catching, and under the skull are two clenched crossed fists.
"pirate!"
Lawton couldn't help but take a breath, and instantly felt that the air around him was getting colder.
"Dang~dang~dang~"
He desperately pulled up the rope connected to the alarm bell, and suddenly the alarm sounded, and at the same time he shouted loudly to the port below: "Pirates, pirates~ There are pirates!"
After shouting, he looked overseas again and could clearly see the pirate ship that was approaching the Al Hoceima port with great momentum.
The number is huge, with more than twenty large ships.
"impossible!"
"How could there be such a powerful pirate with more than 20 large ships?"
Soon, Raul couldn't help but frown.
The pirate group heading towards the Al Hoceima port in front of me is really unusual.
First of all, he had never seen this pirate flag before. It was different from all known pirate flags.
Secondly, the size of this pirate group is really too big.
There are more than twenty large ships, which can form a powerful fleet. They are actually pirates?
Generally speaking, pirate groups usually only have a few ships, one or two large ships, five or six small ships, and there are only a few powerful pirate groups.
For example, the red-bearded pirates of the Ottoman Empire active in the Aegean Sea are powerful and may have five or six large ships and a dozen small ships.
But this was the first time I saw a pirate group with more than 20 large ships. I had never even heard of it before.
After Raul raised the alarm, the entire Hoceima port was immediately in chaos. There were ships hurriedly trying to escape from the sea, there were people trying their best to escape inside, and there were people scurrying around like headless flies.
At the same time, the Spanish troops stationed at the port were also awakened and quickly moved out to garrison the forts in preparation for the pirates' arrival.
"There are pirates who dare to attack the colonial stronghold of our great Spanish Empire. I am really tired of living!"
Gonzalez was very annoyed. He had just been taking a nap and enjoying the rare refreshing time in the hot summer, but he did not expect that pirates would attack the port of Hoceima.
As the Spanish governor stationed locally, he decided to give these blind pirates a lesson.
I hurriedly came to the port fort, picked up my binoculars and looked overseas, and saw ships flying pirate flags on the sea heading towards Al Hoceima Port menacingly.
There are more than 20 large ships, and the cannons on each warship have been pushed out of the cannon holes, which is ferocious and terrifying.
At the same time, small boats on both sides of the big ships have been lowered. The boats are full of pirates, and they are rowing the boats towards the port with their claws and teeth.
"#￥amp;%*"
Gonzalez couldn't help but curse.
"Is this the pirate group?"
"More than twenty large ships?"
"How can this be!"
"Is it that country's navy?"
Gonzalez was really dumbfounded. He thought it was just a few pirate ships. With his defense force of more than 500 people, plus the other Spaniards in the port, he could easily defeat these pirates.
But more than 20 large ships arrived at once, and there were so many small ships on the sea. There were probably thousands of pirates at once. How could we fight?
The Spanish in the port were dumbfounded by the powerful pirate group.
The pirate group heading towards Al Hoceima Port on the sea showed no intention of dragging their feet. They rowed their oars desperately, or raised the sails to full height, and quickly rushed towards Al Hoceima Port.
"Hmph~"
"Traitor of Europe~"
"Iberia's headless horned cow~"
"The lackeys and followers of the Orientals~"
"Destroyer of order~"
"It's time for you to taste the loss of order!"
On one of the pirate ships, Colt from Portugal looked at the chaotic Al Hoceima port in front of him and couldn't help laughing.
The pirate group in front of me is the 'Hand of God' pirate group jointly formed by the five countries of Portugal, England, France, Denmark, and the Netherlands. It is a pirate group that specializes in plundering and plundering overseas.
In order to retaliate against Spain and Japan, and more importantly, to plunder wealth from overseas, Portugal united several countries and determined to jointly support pirate groups to plunder merchant ships, colonial strongholds, colonies, etc.
The Al Hoceima Port in front of them was their first battle to make their name.
"Go at full speed, rush in!"
"Snatch up everything you see~"
Colt took out the pirate scimitar in his hand and roared at the people around him, looking like a pirate leader.
The many sailors around him immediately cheered even more excitedly, waving their weapons and rushing towards Al Hoceima Port desperately.
Soon, fighting broke out.
The cannons between the two sides were the first to express their greetings to each other, and water columns rose up on the sea. However, this did not stop the pirates, but made them rush faster and become more excited.
Soon, when the pirate ships rushed into the Al Hoceima Port, the pirates who had already lurked in the fort also attacked and quickly took the fort. With the internal and external cooperation, the Al Hoceima Port, which itself did not have any numerical advantage, suddenly
Soon it was captured by this pirate group.
"Haha~ I'm getting rich, I'm getting rich!"
In the Al Hoceima port.
Colt looked at a box of Ming silver coins that were carried out. He couldn't help but want to go up and kiss them. Then he looked at a boat with white slaves, huge ivory tusks, and a
Ships of goods came from the Ming Empire, and he smiled even happier.
"Haha, I really made a fortune this time."
"Just these few ships of white slaves, as long as they are transported to the West Sea Port or Egypt and sold to the people of the Ming Dynasty, can be sold at a high price of at least 200,000 Ming Dynasty silver coins."
"There are also these two ships of Ming Dynasty goods. According to preliminary estimates, their value can reach 300,000 Ming Dynasty silver coins."
"This ship of ivory is the most valuable cargo. If an ivory is sold to a Ming merchant, it can be sold for at least hundreds of Ming silver coins. This ship of ivory is estimated to be worth hundreds of thousands of Ming silver coins."
"Coupled with other miscellaneous goods, commodities, etc., the goods and treasures we looted this time alone exceed one million Ming silver coins."
"In addition, all the ships in the port are intact. Suddenly, we have dozens more ships, which is definitely a huge profit!"
Next to Colt, Benjamin from France was counting the gains this time and shouting excitedly. It is really fast to make money from a capital-free transaction. The key is that this feeling is really good.