Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 269 The Secret Agreement between the Governor and the Governor

The Governor of New Spain was more or less sensible. Regardless of whether the money went into a public account or was used for personal benefit, Russia had actually made its attitude clear, that is, in terms of colonization in North America, Russia would not open fire on Spain.

Moreover, this peaceful settlement will only retain the minimum self-defense firepower.

However, it is also worth discussing what it will look like once it actually arrives at the place.

Solovyov's plan was actually very simple. After the settled French were sent there, Russian ships would soon arrive from Kamchatka, bringing some serfs and free men, who would be stationed in Rossburg or newly established strongholds, which might also include armed Cossacks.

If the Spaniards have any objections at that time, the strongholds they plan to build are all on the edge of Upper California, and even the Spaniards themselves will find it difficult to manage these places.

The Navajo, Apache and Comanche, three powerful ethnic groups and the surrounding tribes, were enough for them to deal with, not to mention the Aztecs in Utah, the Great Plains Alliance, and the Chinooks in the area where Chief Seattle was located.

The United States really has a nation called armed helicopters, which is not surprising. Just don't use them in strange places. They look disgusting.

The Governor, in line with the principle of avoiding any trouble and the fact that there were some benefits to be gained along the way, agreed to allow the French to cross Mexico and take ships from the port of the Gulf of Baja California to Fort Ross or their newly opened settlements in batches.

This will all go more smoothly, but the last time the Governor himself met, he only allowed the Bishop who represented the local church and the Criollo people to be there.

Since there are witnesses, it can't be considered a private transaction, but we can only make a secret agreement.

The governor of Mexico City was in a situation where the British always had the upper hand in the Atlantic Ocean, which resulted in Spanish ships being frequently intercepted.

In the early 18th century, the Spanish treasure fleet was often harassed by British pirates and the Royal Navy.

By the beginning of the 19th century, British pirates seemed to have disappeared, but the Royal Navy was still there, which resulted in the colonial administrators, as governors, having unlimited power.

For many things, we cannot always ask Madrid for instructions.

Think about the king, queen, crown prince and prime minister of Madrid. They cannot put together a brain that is politically useful, which means that these governors have to rely on the power in their hands to govern to some extent.

In fact, the locals were fed up with the activities of the “Peninsulares” in the colony.

There is a huge contradiction here, and it is difficult to explain it clearly in a short time.

If these thousands of people were placed in the colony, the locals would definitely not be happy.

Moreover, in Veracruz, some people knew what happened in Santo Domingo. Before, they only knew that the French were defeated. Now that they saw these French, they knew that a revenge action almost took place in the area.

Native white people and indigenous people of America are not like those black people. Although human sacrifice was notorious during the Aztec Empire, it was not that outrageous.

The indigenous people of the Americas are generally quite friendly. Even the Aztec Empire was quite friendly to white people, no matter what happened.

Of course, the premise for being able to get along with local folks in a friendly manner is that, no matter whether you are a god or an ordinary person, don’t go too far.

However, due to the existence of the church, Spain's colonies still had some bottom line.

From the perspective of the royal family and the church, they still opposed some of the practices of the colonists, especially the extermination of the indigenous people. There were still some survivors in Guyana in the Caribbean. As for the cannibal tribes, according to the church, their demise was more or less due to the fact that cannibalism eventually brought punishment from God.

Therefore, the situation like that of the French will not occur. Slavery in Latin America was mainly in the plantations of Brazil and the Caribbean. In Central America, the plantations that were no longer used as human beings were probably the banana plantations, United Fruit and Banana Republic run by the Americans.

Given the level of the Spanish, their ability to carry out large-scale destruction is limited. In this regard, those who speak Spanish are not as good as those who speak French, and those who speak French are not as good as those who speak English.

"We can also celebrate by signing this secret agreement here. Let's have a drink. The wine we make here is pretty good. The land in New Spain is fertile and there is plenty of sunshine."

There is just one small problem, which is that Mexico City is located on a plateau.

"So when can we leave?"

"I think you should act quickly. If you leave now, you may not be able to catch up with the planting season. But many Indians grow corn, and there are many wild animals in Upper California and Aleutian Islands. If you hunt, you can still get a lot."

However, the governor did not know the details. The British knew the most about this aspect. The local tribes were generally friendly to the white colonists.

Mainly the coastline from San Francisco to Seattle, there were not many ships sailing there, but the Bering expedition from the north made the Spaniards a little scared.

However, that road was too difficult to travel. The Russians came here mainly as fur traders. However, the practices of the Russian American Company were too barbaric. The Aleuts who had already surrendered could not bear it and submitted petitions to the Tsar twice.

Paul made the approval at that time, and now Alexander had to do it again.

"Then, Governor General, let's drink to the cooperation between Russia and Spain."

This is all Duke Enghien can say now. He was unwilling to stay in Russia at the beginning. Odessa had Duke Richelieu working there. In North America, not only is the sky high and the emperor far away, but the surrounding area is so desolate. At the same time, it is also very contradictory, that is, it is rich in resources.

There are large herds of bison in America, and all kinds of animals are rampant.

Then, in order to deal with the Indians, the US military carried out a large-scale extermination of American bison, even just to cut off the Indians' main source of food and raw materials. This tactic of exterminating the entire family finally worked.

It’s just that Americans have a very strong ability to exterminate. They were able to exterminate the passenger pigeons that were everywhere in America.

No matter how abundant the resources are, if they are allowed to cause harm, they will be destroyed sooner or later.

Coupled with the Slavic "animalistic" commercial marketing, they are truly a pair of a dragon and a chick.

It’s just that the Russians have always been good at oppressing the indigenous people rather than exterminating them, but what the Americans did is hard to accept.

Seattle and Vancouver, two cities further north on the west coast of North America, appeared as settlements around the time of the Civil War. On the contrary, Russian settlements in this area appeared earlier than theirs.

In the fur business, the British often violated agreements and went beyond their own business scope to engage in vicious competition in Russia.

It does need a few strongholds to support it.
The Duke of Enghien was planning to rush to Guadalajara and then come to the west coast of Mexico to settle the issue of the ship first.

In this regard, the Governor also gave assurances that he would provide ships from the West Coast in several batches, and if necessary, he could also mobilize some speedboats from Central America.

The voyage was not short, and they even had to rest in Monterey before heading to Fort Ross, an area that had already been occupied by the Russians.

The Russian American Company had already sent ships from Pavlovskaya Base and several Aleutian outposts to establish basic settlements at previously explored sites.

However, there were not many people living in the area where we landed. Although the local natives were friendly, they were still a little wary of the white people from outside, but they would not take the initiative to attack.

Solovyov really wanted to follow Duke Enghien to North America, so that he could at least make some advance plans.

But if he ran over, there would definitely be a delay in the part of the operation that required him to go back and report.

It was already March 1804, and time was still very tight. There was no time for him to travel all the way from Baja California to Fort Ross and further north.

He will have to wait a long time before his wish comes true.

The rest of the work was handed over to a group of naval officers and soldiers selected by Rear Admiral Senyavin, who went there with their weapons.

In order to learn how to deal with the natives and to provide these people with centralized training, Solovyov had to return to Veracruz.

The Duke of Enghien himself remained in Mexico City with his retinue, while Solovyov, followed by Belzoni and Adela, was returning to Veracruz.

Seniaven was somewhat patient while he waited in Veracruz.

After all, they have traveled so far and done some strenuous and thankless work, which is something only the Baltic Fleet can do.

However, this trip did bring some benefits. Russia's American territories could be developed. However, it was not certain that such a convenient route through the Spanish colonies would be available in the future.

This was indeed the case. They arrived at a time when the British had not yet organized an anti-French alliance, and Russian ships could still dock freely on both sides.

Later, Russia would sign a peace treaty with France at Tilsit and side with France again. However, due to Napoleon's invasion and the British blockade of the Atlantic shipping routes, Spain's colonies would no longer be able to take this path.

By the time the war in Europe was over, Mexico would have become independent, and things would not be peaceful after that, so this kind of shortcut would not work.

As for how to replenish the manpower of the colonies in the future, it is indeed a troublesome matter.

Senyavin soon waited for Solovyov to return and learned that the two sides had completed the secret agreement.

"How are these people who were evacuated now?"

"Some of them have their own property and are able to 'pay' our 'ransom loans' and they decide to stay in Veracruz or go to New Orleans."

"General, how many people are there in this group?"

"We evacuated 4399 people, four died of illness in Veracruz, and 4 people can pay now, and they insist on going to New Orleans."

"Then we can only arrange a ship for them to go to New Orleans. What about the remaining 4281 people?"

"We can send 200 people as the first batch. How are the Spanish ships prepared?"

"Your estimate is quite accurate. They can only help us transport 200 people in the first batch. We will need someone to protect us along the way. We will first go to Monterey in Upper California and then to Fort Ross."

"That's fine. As for the follow-up, we will also send people up in several batches."

"But as an old sailor, you are in charge of the fleet and cannot go with us. Although I know the customs of the Indians, I have never practiced them. When we get to Monterey and the Spanish forts along the way, we will really need to hire a local guide."

"This is what Duke Enghien needs to do. This proud prince has the courage and is willing to take risks. Let him handle it himself."

"I think so. But we also need to pay attention to the sanitary conditions. North America is not like Petersburg. It is not easy to find a doctor here. The conditions in some places are worse than in the countryside."

"Then I have to hold on and rely on my strong physique."

"I think so, but how is the vaccination against smallpox going now?"

"Those French who have not yet been vaccinated have already been arranged, and these Spanish doctors have to go to many places. They are preparing to vaccinate a large number of towns and villages, but this is not easy to take care of."

"At least there is no need to worry about a large-scale smallpox outbreak in the settlement. This kind of prevention is still effective. I was vaccinated before I joined the army."

"But some diseases are difficult to prevent."

"The navy is more afraid of plague and various diseases than the army, and it is difficult to ensure hygiene when sailing on the sea."

"Do you have any ideas?"

"When we rented a ship, every group of French people couldn't be crowded on board. We are an immigrant ship, not a slave ship."

"That's true. There are no such conditions on the warship."

After the negotiations were completed, except for the more than 100 people who had to go to New Orleans at their own expense, the rest of the people had to depart here in batches.

The first group of people who set out were mainly a group of bachelors. After establishing a stronghold there, they also built houses and served as militia in the settlement.

In addition, when each batch of transport ships arrived at Rossburg, they also had to assist in moving supplies at the dock.

However, storing food for this trip is indeed a problem.

For Solovyov, it was true that someone in St. Petersburg was developing canned food according to his imitation of the French method, but the supply was not successful at present.

Historically, canned food first appeared in 1804, but it was not made public until 1810, when its inventor, Nicolas Appert, received Napoleon's prize.

And at that time, it was also glass cans, and then the British had tinplate cans.

While Solovyov was chatting with Senyavin, he thought of the canned food again.

In this case, he really could not go to Rossburg, and had to follow the fleet back to St. Petersburg.

There are still many things he needs to do, not to mention that the main stage now is still in Europe, and exploration in America is just a small matter.

(End of this chapter)