Chapter 526 London Colonial Company
The pier in the early morning is extraordinarily lively. The slight breeze, with a trace of water vapor, gently brushes over the foreheads of hard-working dock workers, blowing away the sweat.
At this time, there are three ordinary-sized ships being loaded by dock workers.
There are iron nails, axes, sickles, food, cloth, and wine, and even rare matchlock guns.
All the cabins are stuffed to the brim, leaving no gaps.
On the other side, a scattered group of people were talking, even crying, saying goodbye to their family and friends, and boarding this fleet with an uncertain future.
There are a total of 170 people here, including dozens of carpenters, blacksmiths, fishermen, masons, lumberjacks, and some soldiers.
Of course, as the fleet, the most important leaders are some bankrupt gentlemen who boarded the ship urgently, they are the main souls.
Compared to the bustling docks in London, these three boats are nothing more than a scoop of water in the river, and they can't stir up any splashes.
Of course, as the first fleet to colonize the Americas, there are many investors.
The risks in the Americas are relatively reassuring compared to Eastern trade.
Not far away, a group of people in clothes and leather shoes were quietly watching the ship being prepared, silently.
As the captain and the boss of the newly established London Colonial Company, Humphrey Gilbert is standing alone at the bow of the ship, looking at the increasingly prosperous port as time goes by, with a smile on his face , also gradually dignified.
He understood that the company that was not popular before was able to attract attention because he entered the palace and was received by His Majesty the King.
The group of small and medium-sized businessmen and local gentlemen hurriedly chose to invest, which made the company, which was short of funds, immediately rich. In less than a month, its assets exceeded 10,000 yuan, surpassing most merchant families.
In this regard, he wisely dispersed most of the shares, and then became the leader, leading the company that was about to set sail and earning a lot of profits for these people.
And this is also his only chance. If the action fails, it will be fine even if His Majesty's commission is failed, but the group of businessmen and gentlemen will never let him go.
This time, in order to create the company, he brought veterans John Smith and Ferdinand Gosji, as well as Charlie Haklut, a researcher in maritime adventure, who were his friends and founders of his company. people.
At the front of the fleet, most of the people who boarded the ship one after another were lured by paper contracts or forced to come.
Therefore, it is not difficult to understand these people crying.
In order to obtain a large amount of labor force, the company issued a series of preferential conditions:
As long as you pay twelve pounds, you can obtain the ownership and title deed of 100 acres, and this price is only equivalent to less than one-tenth of the land in England.
And the cheap Irish land price is five or six times more expensive than it, which shows its temptation.
And if he has cultivated 100 acres of land, he can still get the same area of land, and the price remains unchanged.
After that, they will be purchased at the market price.
Of course, if it can't pay the funds, it will require the land acquired later as mortgage to obtain the ownership.
And this is the sinister intention of the capitalists, let you cultivate good land, and then confiscate it according to the contract, and enjoy the benefits.
After all, the possibility of repaying the loan within five years is very low. Most of the cultivated land cultivated by most people will be confiscated by the company.
The shareholder of the company who sends a laborer to the company can get a land title deed of 100 acres, and the price of each acre of land is 1 shilling.
"Look, that ship is full of gold!"
"The gold that has been transported has filled the entire pier. Even the stern-faced police and urban management dare not be careless and send people to take care of it!"
"I heard that this is the royal fleet, of course those policemen dare not be careless, unless he doesn't want to do it anymore!"
Humphrey Gilbert was blowing the wind, and felt that besides the sound of the wind, there were some messy discussions in his ears, which interrupted his train of thought.
Turning his head and talking about the direction where the crowd gathered, Gilbert suddenly saw that a fleet of dozens of medium-sized ships was occupying a large berth at the dock, and a large number of dock workers were gathered around them, dumbfounded.
The laborer working on his side is watching it, his eyes are eager to try.
I saw that a large number of wooden boxes loaded with gold were being watched and carried out of the cabin step by step. The sweat on the faces of the workers soaked their underwear, making them particularly eye-catching.
And these wooden boxes that were transported to the pier were opened recklessly, exuding a golden light that seduced the hearts and souls of the people, intimidating the hearts and souls of a large number of passers-by.
"These, are they really gold? God bless me, I'm not dreaming!"
A passerby stared dumbfounded at the gold in the wooden box, drooling, and asked in disbelief.
"Of course, these are true!" A man with a face full of knowing everything, shook his head and replied casually.
"My friend's younger brother is the sailor on this ship. He told me that the gold here is all brought from Africa, and it is only after robbing a huge empire with a population of one million that it can be harvested like this!"
His answer immediately caught the curious eyes of everyone around him. He couldn't help but raise his chin proudly, as if the sailor was himself, and said ostentatiously:
"That empire only had a ridiculous canoe, used the canoe to attack our ships, and then was wiped out in one fell swoop. The river was full of wreckage and corpses, which is shocking!"
At this moment, there was a sound of exclamation and surprise in the surrounding area.
Of course, there is no need to meet, Gilbert can easily know this, because His Majesty the King summoned him into the palace yesterday to meet him for the last time.
"Tomorrow, a royal fleet will return to London with a ship full of gold, and Africa will be sought after by more people, and my favor for you is only for you to get the first wave of funds, can you If there is a second wave, it will determine whether you will produce results!"
As soon as these words came out, Gilbert remembered that he was really panicked at the time. He bent down quickly and asked for instructions respectfully.
His Majesty the King thought for a moment, paced left and right, then settled down, looked down at him, and said solemnly and seriously:
"Tobacco leaves and spices are the foundation for you to gain a foothold in America. As long as you manage well, America will definitely have a place in the United Kingdom!"
"Of course, if you can build a settlement with thousands of people, I won't be stingy with a jazz!"
At this time, His Majesty the King drew a sweet pie with a voice full of temptation.
(end of this chapter)