Chapter 494 The English in India
On the vast sea, the strong wind gathers dark clouds. Between the dark clouds and the sea, petrels are flying proudly like black lightning.
While Haiyan was flying proudly in front, several Galen ocean-going merchant ships followed behind, driven by the waves, swaying from side to side, looking extremely dangerous.
Cape of Good Hope, because Da Gama returned from India with a full load, the King of Portugal changed the place originally named Cape of Storms to the Cape of Good Hope, expressing his joy for it.
The confluence of the warm Mozambique Agulhas Current from the Indian Ocean and the cold Benguela Current from Antarctic waters, the strong westerly jets whip up rough seas all year round.
Every year, I don’t know how many merchant ships sink here and feed the fish.
Three armed merchant ships, one of which is the 800-ton "Prince Henry" and the 500-ton "Desire", are Portuguese merchant ships.
The one on the far right is a British merchant ship, which is struggling to follow the pace of the Portuguese merchant ship, moving forward slowly.
In the captain's room, the gray-bearded captain held a binoculars, stared at the dark clouds ahead with some fear, and murmured: Damn, damn, I hope it's not a "killing wave"!
"Murder wave? Captain, what is this?" The first mate heard the words and couldn't help asking.
"This is the first time you have come to the Cape of Good Hope, and you don't know the reputation of the Cape of Storms!" The gray-haired captain looked at the puzzled first officer, sighed, and said earnestly:
"I have been with Portugal several times, and every time I walked here with trepidation, for fear of accidents!"
"The murderous wave is the most terrifying wave in the Cape of Good Hope. The front of this wave is like a cliff, and the back is like a gentle hillside. The wave height is generally forty to sixty feet, and it will appear frequently in winter!"
When he heard forty feet, the first officer at the side suddenly took a breath of air. Forty feet was more than twice the height of the ship they were driving. It was terrifying!
"This is not the scariest thing, but the scariest thing is that it also has rotating waves from time to time. When these two kinds of waves are superimposed together, the sea conditions will be even worse, and the entire sea will roll like a boiling pot. Passing ships A hundred deaths!"
As soon as this remark came out, the chief mate's face turned pale.
Fortunately, it was spring when they went to sea, and they followed the more experienced Portuguese, and finally passed the Cape of Good Hope this time without any danger.
Except for the captain and some sailors, the rest of the fleet had never been to the East. It was the first time they experienced such a terrible scene, and they couldn't help but feel lingering fear.
"It seems that the Eastern trade is still dangerous! This is still in the case of a route map!" The first officer patted his chest and said in fear.
At this moment, for the first time, he had a real understanding of why spices were so expensive.
Relying on such a dangerous situation, the price is not raised several times, and this trip to the east is really unwilling.
"Yes! Thanks to His Majesty the King's wise and powerful cooperation with the Portuguese, otherwise, if we were to find the route by ourselves, I don't know how many people would die!" Looking at the calm sea ahead, the captain said with emotion.
At this moment, the first officer felt the same way, and his admiration for His Majesty the King emerged from the bottom of his heart.
Soon the fleet continued to move forward and arrived at a port named Sofala, where the fleet was repairing supplies.
If Edward is clear, then he knows that this is the later Mozambique region.
The trading post was taken by the Portuguese from the Arabs, and then became a Portuguese trading post and an important colonial point for the Portuguese.
The fleet slowly parked in the port, the wide sea, the berths are deep, and it is still in the delta area, the economy is very prosperous.
The gray-haired captain took a rough look. The wide sea surface of this port is enough to dock a hundred ships at a time, and it is an excellent port.
At this time, dozens of pale and weak sailors were carried down by the Portuguese merchant ship, some of whose gums were swollen and bleeding.
"Hey! Dude, how many of you have the disease of "Sea Fierce God", you should take it down to recuperate, and you will be fine after a while!"
The stubble-faced Portuguese captain looked at the English captain who was looking around, and asked with some gloating.
"Oh? None of us got the "Sea Fierce God", and they are all good!" The gray-haired captain shook his head, and replied with some doubts himself.
"What? It's impossible. After sailing for so long, how could no one get any strange soldiers?" The Portuguese captain shook his head and said in disbelief.
"Yes, there is one!"
"That's normal!"
"A sailor broke a bone!"
"..."
While Portuguese sailors endured the misery of ocean-going ships, England was amazed that England did not get any of the "Sea Lords".
After a few days, the Portuguese realized that they had added a little yellow concentrated water to their drinks, and after drinking this, they didn’t get this “spirit of the sea”.
The yellow concentrated water became the root cause of not winning the "Sea Fierce God".
This discovery surprised Portugal, but the ingredients in it made it difficult for them to know, and it was called "divine water".
In desperation, they can only buy at a high price. A bottle of Shenshui, which is enough for ten barrels of water, costs 20 pounds. An oriental trade has run off, and it costs hundreds of pounds to spend on it. These are all costs.
And this "sacred water" is actually scurvy written in biology books, also known as "fruit disease", which was discovered and solved only in the eighteenth century.
In order to ensure the success of the first Eastern route, His Majesty the King had people concentrate lemon juice, and in order not to be discovered, he added other fruit juices to confuse the public.
Sure enough, the first voyage came in handy, and it also brought a new source of income to the royal family, a huge source of income.
But said that after a few days of repairing in Sofala, the fleet came to the port of Massawa in the Eritrea region of Ethiopia, which is also a Portuguese trading station, and saw the Ethiopian style and saw this Christian enclave.
Entrusted by His Majesty the King, everyone went to find an Earl of Assab and got in touch with him.
After that, the people came to India, a port called Goa, which was the first port established by the Portuguese.
After arriving here, the English merchant ships stopped moving forward, not only because they were not prepared enough, but mainly because the enthusiasm of the Portuguese was exhausted, and they did not want to take them to the real ancient oriental country, the country of silk and porcelain.
In this way, they purchased a large amount of spices, as well as some silk and porcelain, and began to return.
This is the first time the English have come to India, and going to the East is no longer in the foreseeable future.
(end of this chapter)