Chapter 399 The Other Side of the World: The Cape of Good Hope
The third fleet sent to Europe was led by the Hsin-hsin and four large Karak barques produced by the Cavite Shipyard. The escort fleet consisted of the battleship Flying Tiger, two new Galen-type cruisers, and two schooners. .Not counting the weapons and equipment of the escort warships. Each merchant ship and transport ship is also equipped with several cannons and deck self-defense weapons.
Generally speaking, with a fleet of this size, pirates from various countries in Europe and Asia would not bother them by asking for trouble.
Along the way, except for playing a chase game with the Spanish fleet on the northwest coast of Africa, the navy and army soldiers of the escort fleet headed by Zheng Zhilong basically had nothing to do.
On the way to Europe, the fleet was in a hurry and had sufficient supplies in the Portuguese colony of Mozambique, so it did not stop at the Cape of Good Hope. Except for the old sailors, the rest of the fleet had never been to Africa. The southernmost colony was first developed by the Dutch.
In fact, everyone knows that the Cape of Good Hope is nominally a Dutch colony. In fact, it was founded by the Dutch who provided money and troops and the Chinese who provided labor. In Cape Town, the main labor force is the Chinese. Chinatown was the city of Cape Town back then. After leaving the Chinese Company, the organization was founded by the Chinese in the west of Cape Town.
The first group of Europeans to reach the Cape of Good Hope was led by Dias in 1486. Later, the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama arrived here in 1497 when he developed a direct route from Europe to Asia.
The famous Table Mountain at the Cape of Good Hope was named by Antonio da Saldanha, another Portuguese navigator. It means "Table of the Cape" (Taboadacaba). Before that, the original name of the mountain was from the local SeaMountain.Hoeri'kwaggo built by the Khoi people.
However, neither the Portuguese fleet that sailed through the Cape of Good Hope nor the subsequent British and French fleets paid much attention to this place. At this time, food supply depots and safe havens for ships were located on St. Helena Island in the Atlantic Ocean and on the coast of Mozambique in East Africa. .
At the beginning of the 17th century, the world's commercial hegemony passed to the emerging maritime power of the Netherlands. Portugal's dominance in the Indian Ocean was challenged by the Netherlands. The Dutch East India Company relied on its maritime advantages to gradually crowd out Portugal, Britain and France on the route around the Cape of Good Hope. After the East India Company established the company's Eastern headquarters in Batavia (today's Jakarta), the number of Dutch ships sailing to the Indian Ocean increased. On average, 2.3 fleets passed through the Cape of Good Hope every year.
The connection between Cape Town and Europe at this time was actually not close. At this time, the Cape of Good Hope Colony was just a stopover established by the Dutch East India Company to provide supplies for Dutch ships sailing to Asia. Other European countries were running the Eurasian route. During the period, supply operations are usually carried out on St. Helena Island or Mauritius in the Atlantic Ocean.
The city of Cape Town has a wooden wall to protect the garrison, vegetable gardens and orchards. Chinatown in the West City is the main commercial street. There are 300 Dutch and more than 700 Chinese living here respectively. The remaining 2,000 people They were local blacks and black slaves from other parts of Africa. In addition to the famous British pirates, the legendary commander of the Royal Navy, Drake, once attacked the Dutch base at the Cape of Good Hope. Other European countries did not know why they dismissed this place.
Initially there was only a supply depot established by the Dutch. The land was leased from the nearby black Khoi tribe.
With the arrival of the Chinese led by Li Dan, farms here were quickly opened up. Large pastures also appeared. The Chinese, who were good at farming and hard-working, managed to grow food on the dry land in the southernmost corner of Africa and raised thousands of head. Cattle and sheep can maintain the food needs of the residents of the Cape of Good Hope Colony. They can also provide supplies for passing ships.
Li Dan did not want to conflict with Yin Feng. He also did not want to see the split of the Chinese company that could safeguard the rights of overseas Chinese. Therefore, he decided to leave the first European fleet and stayed at the Cape of Good Hope. His ability was indeed extraordinary. .Creating the second peak of his career in the southernmost corner of Africa.
The Chinese opened a diversion channel from the Fresh River on Table Mountain to divert the river water for irrigation. They used the crops they grew to trade sheep and calves with the indigenous Khoi people. In addition, on the southeast sides of Table Mountain and The forests of Hout Bay provided ample timber for the construction of houses and boats.
At this time, the East India Company had a monopoly on all trade matters and prohibited all private transactions. Li Dan felt that his power was not yet strong enough to fight against the Dutch. The Chinese Company was also beyond its reach here, so he could only obey the orders of the Dutch and the Chinese Company. Direct business contacts were cut off. He could only serve the Dutch as an employee of the Dutch East India Company.
During the First Javanese Melee, the Chinese and Dutch peoples in the Cape Colony were at war with each other for a while. The Dutch built a fence around Chinatown to block it. After that, the news of the Dutch defeat came and the relationship between the two peoples resumed. However, during this period, some Malay and Chinese Muslim immigrants moved to the Cape of Good Hope. These were Javanese residents who were deported to Africa by the Dutch Batavia High Court. These Asians formed the so-called Cape Colored group, which was subordinate to the white Dutch people. At the same time, Islam was also brought to the area.
During the Second Java War, Anton Damai, the Dutch supply depot commander in the Cape Colony of Good Hope, did not want unrest in his jurisdiction. However, some white Dutch encouraged the Malay immigrants to compete with the Chinese for pastures, farms and water sources. As a result, armed conflicts between Chinese and Dutch people broke out around the city of Cape Town and the entire Cape of Good Hope.
The Dutch call the local nomadic Khoi people the Hottentots. They call the people who live in the coastal areas and make a living by collecting shellfish the Strandlopers. They call the people who make a living by hunting the Bushmen. (Bushmen. means people living in the jungle). The Dutch could not work as hard as the Chinese to support themselves. Instead, they used various deceptive and violent methods to rob the surrounding black tribes.
The Peninsular Khoi people also lived near the Cape. At that time, the Khoi people still maintained a simple nomadic economy. They did not engage in any planting industry. Wild roots were the main plant food they ingested. The land in the living area was barren and subject to periodic droughts. As a result, the Khoi pastures have very low livestock capacity and extensive management. Each Khoi family commune needs a very large pasture area to survive. Therefore, the Khoi population is very sparsely distributed. When Westerners invaded South Africa, the area between the Orange River and the The Khoi in the south has a talent pool of 200,000.
In order to avoid inter-tribal wars and prevent further population reduction, tribes intentionally separated broad border areas between adjacent tribes when migrating. This made the connections between Khoi tribes and clans more loose. Tribes The power of the chiefs is very small. The defense capabilities of tribal organizations are also poor. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Khoi learned to smelt iron and forge iron from the Bantu people. The Khoi people living in the Cape area include Colin Haiqua (also known as Cape The Khoi), Korashukwa and Cochoqua tribes. These tribes had the earliest contact with the Dutch colonists. In the early days of the establishment of the colony, the supply of livestock for ships came mainly from these tribes. For the colonists, livestock exchanges with the Khoi people Trade is a very profitable business. They can exchange copper blocks, scrap iron, knives, tobacco, glass beads and other accessories from the Khoi people for the livestock they need. Using 0.5 pounds of copper wire plus 0.125 pounds of tobacco, they can exchange for a sheep. Using 0.25 pounds of copper can be exchanged for a calf. A little more than 3 pounds of copper can be exchanged for a cow. Although the Peninsular Khoi people have favorable climate conditions and abundant pasture land in the Cape region, they have more livestock. Livestock is the measure of wealth for the Khoi people. They are unwilling to sell too much livestock. The Khoi people exchange surplus livestock with the Dutch to meet other needs in life. Therefore, there is a huge demand for ornaments and daily necessities provided by Dutch merchants. Limited. It quickly becomes saturated.
In order to obtain more livestock, the colonists used all means to trick the Khoi people into becoming addicted to strong liquor, making the liquor an item consumed in large quantities by the Khoi people. Then, through exchange, they seized a large number of livestock from the Khoi people.
While the Chinese were operating their own farms and pastures honestly, the Dutch colonists broke into the Khoi tribe and robbed them blatantly.
The Dutch colonists openly told their commander Anton that if they could not get enough livestock, they would go into the interior in groups to rob them; if the Hottentots (Khoi) did not hand over their livestock, they would kill the Hottentots. Arrested. Faced with this group of bandits, the Khoi people once asked: "If we Khoi people go to your Netherlands, will you allow us to do what you did?"
This accusation meant nothing to the Dutch colonists. They drained one Khoi tribe of their livestock and then turned to another tribe. Within a few years, they penetrated more than 100 kilometers into the hinterland of South Africa's interior Khoi tribes.
The Dutch hate the industriousness of the Chinese because the livestock grain produced by the Chinese drives down the price of supplies, devaluing the proceeds from their robbery - although they basically get these livestock products for free. Moreover, although the Chinese do business, they also I deceived the black people. But I never robbed the black tribe openly or covertly.
Therefore, the surrounding Khoi, Sann and Bantu black tribes all tried their best to help the Chinese during the Second Sino-Dutch War. A large number of Khoi nomads used the horses provided by the Chinese to launch guerrilla warfare against the Dutch. Helped Li Dan's men to defend Chinatown.
After the defeat of the East India Company, the Dutch rebuilt a military base, Castle of Goodhope, on the basis of the Cape Town Fortress in the hope of countering possible Chinese counterattacks. However, at this time, Li Dan only had more than 200 armed personnel. Unable to attack the Dutch, the Cape Colony once again restored the temporary peaceful coexistence between the Chinese and Dutch ethnic groups.
At this time, the British suddenly appeared. Three warships appeared in the sea at the Cape of Good Hope. The Chinese, who took advantage of the Dutch to concentrate on guarding the land side, captured the Fort of Good Hope in one fell swoop. However, the Chinese did not surrender. They also took in some refugees in Chinatown. The Dutch and British fleets came from North America. They didn't know that a Chinese fleet had just sailed to Europe recently and was returning. They saw that the Chinese had poor weapons and disorganized personnel. They decided to attack Chinatown and solve the problem of the Cape Colony once and for all. Turn this place into a British colony.
When Yin Feng sent the European convoy to Europe, he asked them to try not to conflict with the European powers because the Chinese company did not have the strength to compete with the Europeans for sea rights in the sea west of the Strait of Malacca. The European convoy was in After receiving the news from the Dutch ship, Li Jin, Han Jing and others advocated negotiations with the British. Then they picked up Li Dan and others and left the Cape of Good Hope.
A group of young Chinese army officers led by Zheng Zhilong immediately expressed opposition and unanimously demanded war against the British. Zheng Zhilong declared: "The shipowner king once said that wherever the flag of China is raised, it will not be allowed to be lowered again."
"But this Cape of Good Hope was the territory of the Dutch. What is flying here is the flag of the Orange family." Li Jin retorted: "Even if we beat away the British this time, what will happen to the Chinese here after we leave?" manage."
Zheng Zhilong paused and gritted his teeth and said: "This is the land developed by us Chinese. The city was built by our people from the Chinese Company. The purpose of our Chinese Army is to safeguard the rights of our overseas Tang people. We can only treat the British as Let the cannon speak."
He drew out his command knife and said decisively: "I am the supervisor of the escort fleet. All matters involving the use of force are under my charge. Therefore, I have decided to go to war against the British."
Li Jin and Han Jing looked at each other and shook their heads helplessly.
When the Flying Tiger and five other warships suddenly appeared on the Cape of Good Hope coastline, the British had already opened fire on the fences of Chinatown and were setting fires everywhere. Thick smoke rose over the Cape of Good Hope colonial area. Sporadic gunfire continued from Came from the direction of Chinatown.
The flagship "America" of the three British battleships was a three-masted fast battleship equipped with 30 cannons. However, it had no chance to show its speed. It was too late to pull anchor and set sail. It was beaten black and blue by the Flying Tiger's continuous bombardment. One mast was also broken by a chain bomb from the Flying Tiger. The other two two-masted battleships were also sunk by the Chinese in a rapid and fierce artillery battle.
600 marine marines, led by Zheng Zhilong, landed in Hout Bay and captured Fort Good Hope in one fell swoop. The Chinese marine marines carrying light field guns defeated a force of several hundred British sailors in the west of Cape Town. With the cooperation Li Dan's men retook Chinatown. Many British people fled inland. Most of them were captured by local black tribes and later sold as slaves to the Chinese.
Zheng Zhilong sent the rescued Dutch people to the Dutch ship that came to report the news. He asked them to return to Europe and tell the Netherlands that the Chinese Company had "temporarily" taken over the Cape of Good Hope Colony. The Dutch people who are willing to stay and live with the Chinese will be sent to the Netherlands. Under the rule of the Chinese Company, people work as hard as the Chinese.
The Dutch couldn't help but smile. They saw wolves at the front door and tigers at the back door. They had no choice but to leave the Cape of Good Hope in despair.
The flag of the Chinese Company was raised on the flagpole of Fort Good Hope, announcing that the southernmost corner of Africa had become a Chinese colony.
At a fort on the commanding heights of Fort Good Hope, Li Dan met his old acquaintance Li Jin. He was obviously thin and old, but he was still full of energy and his hands were still strong.
Over the years, through sporadic Western merchant ships, the China Company and Yin Feng secretly smuggled him a lot of weapons and ammunition, so he could still lead people to fight against the Dutch and British.
"Boss Li, you can always make a name for yourself wherever you are. Compared with you, I, Li Jin, have been working for the Red Barbarians for more than ten years and have accomplished nothing." Li Jin said to Li Dan.
Li Dan shook his head, pointed to the east and said: "Uncle Jin, you are wrong. Follow Yin Feng, Captain Yin. Your future career will be famous in history and will be praised for thousands of years. Follow the footsteps of Brother Yin .Please tell Yin Feng: I, Li Dan, have entrusted my sister and family property to him."
"You don't plan to go back to Tangshan."
Li Dan laughed loudly, pointed to the Chinatown area below the Fort of Good Hope, and said loudly: "Ask King Yin to send more people to me. Wherever we Tang people go, we can make the land under our feet the same as Tangshan. The place where we Tang people live is Tangshan."