Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 63 Where to go?

April 1627, 4, Guam.

On March 1521, 3, the fleet led by Magellan entered the Pacific Ocean and finally arrived at several small islands with indigenous inhabitants after several months of sailing.

These small islands are some of the Mariana Islands. The indigenous people on the islands are dark-skinned and tall. They are naked, but they wear hats made of palm leaves.

The enthusiastic islanders brought food, fruits and vegetables to the guests from afar.

In addition to being surprised, the Spanish crew members were all sincerely grateful for the enthusiasm of the local natives.

Magellan also named the island "Spinnaker Island".

But since the natives had never seen such a huge ship, they showed great curiosity about what these guests brought.

So, they naturally moved some of the items on the ship away.

When the Spaniards discovered this, they were very angry and regarded these rude natives as robbers, and called the island "Robber Island".

When the natives stole a lifeboat tied to the stern of the ship one night, Magellan was extremely angry. His previous gratitude towards the natives disappeared, and he became extremely evil.

He led a team of fully armed sailors to the shore, slaughtered several confused natives, and set fire to dozens of thatched houses and dozens of canoes to declare that the dignity of the Spanish was inviolable.

On March 3, Magellan drew a cross on the beach of the island on behalf of the Spanish royal family, declaring that the island belonged to the great Kingdom of Spain. He then led his fleet westward until he reached the Philippine Islands.

However, there is retribution in the world, and no one can escape it.

In April of that year, Magellan was involved in a conflict with local indigenous people on Mactan Island in the Philippines and was hacked to death, with no trace of his body left.

In 1565, the Spaniard de Legazpi officially declared Guam as a Spanish territory and named it San Fernando.

In October of the same year, a trading post was built on the island as a stopover for Spanish merchant ships on their route from Acapulco Port to Manila.

The simple and kind-hearted Chamorro people, the indigenous inhabitants of the island, seemed to have forgotten the brutality and ruthlessness of the Spanish, and gave them sufficient manpower and material support, which enabled the Spanish to gain a foothold here in a very short time.

Of course, they did not know that more than a hundred years later (1668), even greater suffering would be waiting for them.

In order to gain a firm colonial rule on the island, the Spanish launched a bloody and brutal war against the Chamorro people - well, it should be said that it was a one-sided massacre that lasted for more than 30 years.

The original indigenous people of Guam were massacred from more than 100,000 to only a few thousand people, which shows how cruel the Spanish methods were.

"what!……"

In the square of San Fernando, a dozen drunk Spanish sailors were beating up two Chamorros, kicking them hard in the face and body with their big feet, making them roll on the ground and scream in pain.

The reason was very simple: when the Spaniards passed by, he did not bow to them in time to show his respect.

"I think we should leave," said Pedro Gonzalez, captain of the Manila galleon "Baños." He looked out the window, picked up the wine glass on the table, and drank it all in one gulp. "If we stay any longer, the sailors will lose their spirits."

"Do you think the 'Maria' has been captured by pirates?" Dani Olmo Carvajal, the captain of the Santo Domingo, who was sitting opposite him, looked at him gloomily.

"We've been waiting on the island for five days." Gonzalez avoided the locals' aggressive gazes and whispered, "According to the timeline, the Maria should have arrived here to reunite with us. But now, we have no news from them. So, Mr. Jose and the others are very likely..."

"No, it's impossible," Carvajal interrupted rudely. "Mr. José is an extremely experienced captain. He will surely lead the crew to escape the pirates' pursuit. Besides, it was already dusk when we encountered the pirates. If we can hold on for a few hours, we can use the cover of darkness to disappear into the vast ocean. Can those pirates still find the Maria after a night of sailing?"

"Then why haven't they arrived in San Fernando yet?" Gonzalez asked in a deep voice.

"Perhaps they've lost their way?" Carvajal said unwillingly. "You know, although the seas have been relatively calm this section of our voyage, we could still encounter a sudden storm. It must be like this: they encountered a storm and were blown off their planned course. They're now working hard to correct their course and head towards this island."

"Let's... wait three more days. Oh, no, let's wait two more days. If the Maria still hasn't joined us after two days, we'll set sail immediately for Manila. ... We can't abandon the Maria; it's our flagship, after all. And Mr. José is my dear friend."

"Okay, we'll wait two more days." Gonzalez nodded. "Actually, Mr. José is not only your best friend, but also my best partner. I pray to God all the time, hoping he can return safely and travel to Manila with us. But anything can happen out at sea, and we must remain rational and sober." "You know, we only have two months in Manila. If we miss the southeast monsoon in July, our return journey will be greatly delayed. We'll have to risk sailing through the rough North Pacific in late autumn. If we're not careful, the ship will be destroyed and everyone will die."

"Don't worry, our trip will go smoothly." Carvajal took a deep breath. "The Almighty God will protect us throughout the journey!"
-
A slender three-masted sailing ship is anchored on the southwest side of Rota Island, more than 70 kilometers north of Guam. Two small boats shuttle back and forth, carrying a little fresh water and picked coconuts from the island to the large ship for the next journey.

Dozens of men were lying in a mess on the beach, basking in the warm sunshine and enjoying the rare peace and tranquility.

More than 20 days ago, the "Break the Wave" successfully hijacked the Manila galleon "Maria" and reaped huge wealth.

After five days of transshipment, more than 40 boxes of silver pesos, several tons of copper blocks, and six or seven tons of cocoa were all moved onto the "Breaking Waves".

They even confiscated all the Spanish weapons, including more than 60 muskets, 12 cannons, 8 barrels of gunpowder, more than a hundred swords, spears, axes, and even a few saws, and moved them all onto the ship.

If it weren't for the "humanitarian" desire to leave some necessary survival supplies for the Spanish at sea, the crew would have almost stolen more than a dozen barrels of wine, several livestock, and a dozen chickens and ducks on the Spanish ship.

Looking at the pitiful Spaniards, the "Break the Wave" still showed the gentlemanly style it should have.

Although they did not leave a detailed list of looting for the Spaniards like the English pirate Drake did, they still treated them as prisoners of war and provided necessary medical treatment and comfort to some of the injured.

They also helped the Spanish hold a solemn sea burial ceremony for more than 20 victims to express their respect and homage to the "warriors".

After dealing with the corresponding aftermath, the "Breaking Waves" returned the hijacked Manila galleon to the Spaniards, said goodbye, then turned west and quickly disappeared into the depths of the ocean.

Following the North Equatorial Current, the "Break the Wave" arrived at the waters near the Mariana Islands a few days ago, preparing to rest for a while and replenish some fresh water and fruit.

The archipelago is mainly formed by the accumulation of coral reefs and volcanic eruptions. It has no fresh water resources. Only some low-lying areas rely on the accumulation of large amounts of rainwater to form small pools.

Considering that the archipelago was all under Spanish control and there might be Spanish colonial outposts on many islands, the "Breakthrough" did not dare to stop in Guam, and also carefully avoided Saipan Island to the north, but chose the less conspicuous Rota Island for a temporary stop.

"According to Harvey and Lin Afu, all coastal ports during the Ming Dynasty prohibited foreign merchants from entering to trade. Only Yuegang (Zhangzhou) and Guangzhou were open to trade. Furthermore, the types of goods traded and the volume of transactions were supervised and controlled by the local customs officials." Luo Zhenhui walked on the soft beach, feeling the refreshing sea breeze, and felt himself relax. "Tell me, after we arrive in the Ming Dynasty, which port should we go to for trade?"

"I prefer Guangzhou," Meng Shengxin said. "It's the largest foreign trade port in the entire Ming Dynasty, and we can buy any goods we need there. Furthermore, with its large population, Guangzhou must have many artisans and craftsmen, making it easy for us to spend a lot of money to recruit them."

"More importantly, this place is relatively close to Macau. After we gather the immigrants, we can purchase a batch of cannons and muskets here. We can even take the opportunity to abduct a few outstanding Portuguese artillerymen and gunsmiths."

"I agree with going to Guangzhou." Kuang Xu echoed, "It is said that Yuegang is a very small port. Large ships like ours cannot enter or exit. Only small boats can pass through."

"But Lin Afu suggested going to Yuegang," Luo Zhenhui said with a smile. "He said that once we get to Yuegang, we can recruit hundreds of people to follow us out to sea in less than three days."

"It should be easy to recruit immigrants in Guangzhou," Meng Shengxin said. "During this period, the Ming Dynasty was plagued by internal and external troubles, and natural disasters were everywhere. The refugees were simply too numerous."

"Oh, right? We might be able to recruit a large number of sailors along the Guangdong coast. Well, they're the so-called Tanka people, who have lived on ships for generations. With a little training, they can become excellent ship sailors. You know, we have a Spanish galleon in Shixing Fort that can sail across the ocean, but it's been sitting in the harbor for a long time due to a lack of necessary sailors."

"Lin Afu wants to go to Yuegang, probably hoping to attract more fellow villagers," Kuang Xu said with a smile. "But let's not forget that there's a powerful maritime figure in Fujian—Zheng Zhilong. What if we run into him and a conflict breaks out?"

"Zheng Zhilong?" Luo Zhenhui couldn't help but sneer at this. "This fellow controlled the seas of Fujian and Guangdong, and had hundreds of warships. He was holding a strong hand, so to speak. Yet, in the end, he willingly surrendered to the Qing invaders, ending up dead and his clan wiped out."

"However, he gave birth to a good son, Zheng Chenggong."

"Zheng Chenggong gave birth to another unruly Zheng Jing."

"Did Zheng Jing give birth to another Zheng Keshuang who surrendered to the Qing invaders? Oh, and he even competed with Wei Xiaobao for his wife."

"Go away, what nonsense! That's a Jin Yong novel. It has nothing to do with Zheng Keshuang."

Seeing several people chatting and laughing, Luo Zhenhui felt relieved and continued to walk on the beach, moving forward and enjoying the sea breeze.

Then let’s go to Guangzhou!

(End of this chapter)