Chapter 1752 Queen of Hell (Twenty-three)

When the Wasinacat formed an alliance, they proposed to provide the settlers with corn and 80 beaver pelts every year. This was negligible compared with the benefits brought by setting up a trading point, but it was part of the "courtesy".

At that time, the biggest enemies of the Wasinaquat people were the Pequots, who only traded with the Dutch. Before the 1630s, the Dutch's main trading point was not in the Connecticut River Valley, but in New Netherland's Austria.

In Fort Longe, it was the Mohawks who traded with them. However, in the winter of 1634, the Mohawks suddenly stopped coming. Considering that the fur trade was the colony's only income, this was undoubtedly an economic disaster.

The Dutch thought that the French were causing trouble. In order to regain their old customers, the Dutch sent 22-year-old Vanden Bogart to the Mohawk territory, led by two companions and five Mohawk guides.

Visit them.

When they almost reached the shore of Lake Monada, the team found an important Mohawk village. However, the young Vanden Bogart told one of the leaders of the tribe that he was only here to "visit", so there was no

Carrying gifts, the angry leader drove the "talent" away.

The French not only intermarry with the Indians, they also set up "spokesmen" in the Indian tribes. These "spokesmen" are usually young men under the age of 20. They have to live with the Indians and learn their language.

culture, thereby establishing stronger ties between the French and the Indians, a rule established by Samuel de Champlain, the "Father of New France".

The Indians in the east are very different from those in the west. The water network composed of creeks, rivers and lakes in the east is as dense as a spider web. The way the Indians travel, hunt and fight is by canoe, which has a smooth shape.

It was also very stable, and French traders quickly learned to use it as a means of transportation and meandered along the waterways in North America.

This kind of boat has a flat bottom, great buoyancy, and a very light hull. Rowers can easily navigate deep and fast rivers with wide, flat oars.

With cedar wood for shipbuilding everywhere and easy repairs, these canoes played a central role in the northern fur trade. But for these beaver skin traders, the most terrifying thing was not the fast water and steep slopes.

waterfall, but the Indians hidden in the forest and water.

Not all Indians are peace-loving, and wars often occur between tribes. The Europeans changed the way of war during the process of trading with the Indians, so the Iroquois sometimes attacked these caravans, and even if

If the guide of the caravan belongs to their hostile tribe, the caravan will also be attacked.

The Europeans would be fine. The worst they could do was lose some of their cargo, and the guides would be tortured miserably if they were caught. Such an attack was often called the "Beaver War," partly because of the Iroquois war.

People need to obtain beaver resources, and part of the reason is their culture. When many members of the tribe die or are killed, launching a war is a way for them to strengthen their strength again. The captives will not be executed, but will be treated as slaves.

Or take them in to replace the deceased clan members.

The Indian tribes who were defeated by the Iroquois and did not become prisoners or slaves fled to the vicinity of Lake Michigan and Lake Superior. The local Sioux, Crees, and Miamis had no contact with Europeans and did not understand the fur trade.

In their cognition, beavers, like other animals, are hunted and eaten. The European artifacts in the hands of these fleeing Indians were very novel to them, so these escapees from different tribes formed a new tribe.

"Ottawa people", Ottawa means traders, they are the middlemen in the beaver skin trade, and their place of residence becomes Ottawa. They replace their old knives and kettles with good beaver skins, and use

These fine beaver skins were exchanged for European goods.

But just like the history of the development of currency, Indians also have "hard currency" similar to gold and silver, that is, shell beads, whose value is distinguished according to size. Not only did the "talented man" not bring a gift, he also

There is no Indian "Money". The Dutch Van, like the German von and the Spanish de la, both mean "from" and are not a symbol of nobility, but the 22-year-old Van den Bogart is indeed not an ordinary person, otherwise

It’s not like he was so young and had no experience that he became the leader of a group to “visit” the Mohawks.

The five guides were busy guarding against other Indians and had no mood to remind him. His two men didn't know whether they really didn't understand the rules or had tricked the young master. Seeing that the young master was about to return empty-handed, the elders came out to adjust.

Saying "they are willing to be friends with the Dutch", an old man put his palm on Van den Bogart's chest and found that his heartbeat was steady, so he announced that the Dutch were not afraid. At this time, the Indians gave Van den Bogart a beaver.

Fur coat, the two parties began to bargain.

There are bullies everywhere, so why would the Dutch not kill them if they gave one to them?

While chatting around the campfire, the Indian chiefs wanted to price a large piece of beaver skin, four palms wide of shell beads and four palms wide of cloth. Van den Bogart said that he had no power to decide such a thing. He must ask "the chief."

”, that is, the opinion of the Governor of New Netherland.

At this time, the chief who wanted to drive the "talent" away jumped up and said, "You Dutch are scoundrels. The French not only give gifts when trading, they are also willing to give more shell beads or provide better goods in exchange for our furs."

!”

Maybe the governor taught the young master before he set off. This was a method that the Indians used to charge high prices, so he retorted, "Don't lie. The French are always out of stock or don't give enough wampum. Other tribes have already given up on the French and

We made a deal."

"Then what do you think we should do?" the Indian asked.

"I will come to you next spring with the results, and until I come, you cannot trade furs with other people." Van den Bogart said.

The Indians agreed to this condition, and Van den Bogaert went to see the governor with the Indians' request.

The Dutch agreed to this condition, and they soon resumed trade with the Mohawks, but in the winter of 1635, the Mohawks stopped coming again.

After a year of hard work, Vanden Bogart was already a capable businessman. This time he went out to meet the Mohawks, and he remembered to bring a "gift."

However, this time I went, the situation was completely different from last time.

The once prosperous tribe was lifeless, there were no guards at the door, the sky was full of crows, and there were also foxes.

The fox was a white fox, but maybe because it had eaten the prey, its mouth was full of blood, and it didn't hide when it saw someone coming.

This situation was unusual no matter how you looked at it. Van den Bogart, his companions, and the guides all took up arms and alert, and finally they found a dying old man in a half-collapsed tent.

The Iroquois came, and they captured people from the tribe to replenish the population, but this time many of their people died not because of the war, but because of the epidemic of smallpox in the tribe.

Later, when a guide was helping the old man clean his wounds, he discovered that he had acne on his body. The guide immediately let out a horrible wail.

Due to many uncontrollable factors, the Dutch regarded the Connecticut River Valley as a backup trading point. At the same time, both Massachusetts and Plymouth began to immigrate to the valley. Although the governor of Massachusetts Bay did not agree to the conditions of the Wassinats like Plymouth, the people did.

They began to migrate spontaneously. They took a fancy to the land in the river valley and planned to develop it into farmland. This caused a conflict with the Dutch who planned to build fortifications here.

In the summer of 1636, a Boston merchant was said to have been killed by the Pequots. The Massachusetts authorities sent troops to destroy the crops and arouse resistance from the Pequots.

After the defeat of the Pequots, some people decided to abandon their land and flee. Their land was occupied by the Mohicans, and the captives were divided up. Some were sent to other tribes as slaves, and some were sent to the West Indies.

, the number of Pequots dropped sharply, and the Dutch were also squeezed out of this trading point.

As the British colonies gradually formed a line along the coast, the French fur business became increasingly difficult to operate. Champlain had always hoped that New France would become a smooth-running, multi-functional colony, but they were still

Trapped further north near Ottawa, the French in the south were unable to compete with the British. All they could do was explore new sources of fur goods to the west through expeditions.

There were a lot of American bison at that time. The Indians discovered a way to hunt bison. The eyes of this huge beast are long on both sides. This is a characteristic of many herbivores. The eyes of sheep are also long on both sides. Such as lions and tigers.

The eyes of predators such as wolves and humans are facing forward, so bison can easily look to both sides to get a wider field of view. When they run or are frightened, their heads are always lowered, which makes them

It is easy to be affected by the group, and they will run when others are running, so as long as the cattle are driven to the edge of the cliff, the cattle that cannot see the front will collectively fall off the cliff, so that the number can be gained

Huge bison.

With the heavy taxes caused by the wars in the Old World, the French no longer had the money to buy leather coats. In addition, France was at war with many European countries. Those countries that were originally eager for Parisian luxury goods also closed their doors. As a result, France was interested in furs.

The demand has dropped significantly, but traders are still buying in large quantities, which has resulted in a lot of fur rotting in warehouses and being bitten by rats.

In 1665, a naval war broke out between the Netherlands and England. The trigger was a British navy occupying the Dutch's New Amsterdam in North America. At that time, the British warships anchored in Brooklyn aimed their cannons at the fortress of New Amsterdam. At that time, the British king

Charles II granted land including New Netherland to his brother James, Duke of York, in return for James surrendering four beaver skins each year. These troops were to ensure that this promise was kept.

British commander Richard Nix announced to the Dutch in the city that as long as the other side surrendered and promised to accept British rule, he would protect the lives, property and freedom of the surrenderers. Director General Peter Stefferson directly tried to persuade them to surrender.

He read the book and prepared to assemble the army, but the 22-year-old Van den Bogart persuaded him.

Obviously, continuing to do the fur business is no longer as profitable as it used to be. "There are too many hunting dogs, and rabbits will inevitably die." The Dutch have no strong intention to immigrate. The key thing is that the condition proposed by the British is that Suriname can be exchanged for New Ned.

Suriname and Amsterdam were the lands lost by the Dutch in the first Anglo-Dutch War. Suriname's sugar trade was extremely valuable. That area belonged to South America and did not play a big role in Britain's North American expansion, while New York was of great importance to them.

Significant.

These outsiders did not know that Massachusetts, New Haven, Plymouth and Connecticut had formed a "loose collection", promising eternal goodwill and friendship, common offense and defense, mutual assistance and consultation.

The Duke of York would definitely expand after occupying New Amsterdam. New Haven was actually not a very suitable place for the fur trade. It was the territory of the Dutch and Swedes.

For decades New England has been discussing a mythical lake - Lake Iroquois, a beaver version of El Dorado. It is said to be the source of a certain river. Many Massachusetts people immigrated to New Haven in search of this lake.

arts.

The Dutch gave up New Amsterdam to acquire a more valuable land, Suriname. At this time, New Amsterdam was already a city of mixed ethnic groups. These people came here for profit, were extremely hypocritical, and would not resist to the death, and the British also

Since they did not want a ruin, it would be beneficial to the Dutch to agree to the British terms. After they withdrew, they could ask the Dutch mainland to send troops.

After many considerations, the Director General gave up the resistance, and the British occupied New Amsterdam without a fight. In order to commemorate the Duke of York, New Amsterdam was renamed New York. Although the Dutch left, they still left traces. Queens, New York

It is decorated with Dutch tulips and English roses, and Brooklyn, Harlem, and Broadway are all named after Dutch.

The war made life difficult for the French, but life for the British was very good. The demand for beaver skin hats and fur coats from the Hudson Bay soared. In addition to beaver skins, the British also had a demand for deerskin.

It's so big that more than 200,000 deer skins are shipped back to England from Charleston every year.

Charleston is located just south of Massachusetts and north of New York. Plymouth is also a British colony. Although there is friction with Massachusetts due to the fur business, the offensive and defensive alliance is still unanimous, and all colonies will fight against the French.

If Massachusetts rebelled against the aristocratic governor sent by England, then the governor of New York was a British aristocrat. Philip English was relatively safe under the protection of the governor of New York.

Elizabeth Cary's husband is a shipbuilding expert in Charleston. Anyone in power will pay attention to the protection of technical talents. If Elizabeth Cary was lured to Salem and imprisoned like John Alden, then Charleston

Fortunately, the authorities came forward, but Elizabeth went to clear her wrongs on her own.

Talent is very important, and political and economic factors must also be considered. In the spirit of doing more, it is better to do less, so the Charleston authorities are helpless.

If you continue to wait, you will undoubtedly be waiting for death. Elizabeth Cary escapes from prison.

Their property was in Charleston, and it was not as convenient for George Corwin to embezzle their wealth as it was to embezzle John Proctor and Philip English, but it gave the Massachusetts Sheriff an excuse to intervene in Charleston affairs.

It's to capture fugitives.

Thomas Brattle was a scientist at Harvard who worked with chemist Robert Boyle, measured a comet that passed over New England, and attended and recorded the Salem Witch Trials

the process of.
To be continued...