Chapter 1517 The Fertile Land of Canaan, the Wealth of Brazil!
"Father Faria, the details of this southward exploration are as follows... We rely on the ocean currents along the coast to explore southward, and the sailing is very fast. There is this coastal southward ocean current (Brazilian current) throughout the journey... The coast is full of green jungles, and there is almost no trace of civilized civilization. And unlike the terrible southern continent of Africa, there was no devil's curse after sailing for three or four months..."
"God bless! It was not until 28-30 degrees south latitude, at the boundary between sparse grassland and rainforest, that we stopped sailing and set up an explorer's wooden pillar to indicate the discovery and occupation of the Kingdom of Portugal!... Then, we turned around and rode the southeast trade wind to the north. Between 10-30 degrees south latitude, the southeast trade wind seems to be very stable, and the fleet's speed of returning north is also very fast. This southern coast is particularly fast to go back and forth..."
In front of the wooden church with a cross, Bruno looked at Father Faria and told a detailed story about the southern exploration of the Brazilian coast. Then, while piously praising God, he smiled with emotion.
"Praise be to the merciful Father! This is a new continent that is easy to navigate and truly suitable for exploration! It is much better than the barbaric and dangerous 'Sipangu Indies' to the west..."
"I also named several special coasts I found along the way. Near Natal Port at 6 degrees south latitude, it can be called 'Natal Bay' or 'Christmas Bay'. At 13 degrees south latitude, there is a very deep natural bay and good harbor. In memory of the Holy Savior, it can be called 'Salvador Bay' or 'All Saints Bay'. At 23 degrees south latitude, we found a river that had never been seen before. The largest river I have ever seen, an unusually wide river! It happened to be January, so it was called ‘Rio de Janeiro’, ‘January Bay’! …”
“The vastness of the new continent in the south is beyond all our imagination. It is probably as large as dozens of Portuguese kingdoms! And this vast and fertile continent has almost no traces of development, and there are no powerful native kingdoms. We didn’t even find any native towns on the southern coast, a large native tribe of several thousand people… This is completely a land without a master, a best gift from God to the Kingdom of Portugal! …”
“Bendito seja Deus! This new continent is actually as large as dozens of Portuguese kingdoms? ! Baron Bruno, God really blesses you, and even more so the Portuguese! …”
Hearing the astonishing vastness of the new continent in the south, even the devout and ascetic Father Faria couldn’t help but feel turbulent. If the gospel of the Lord can be spread throughout this vast jungle continent, the sacred merits brought will far exceed the conversion of the Catholic Church to the Magyars for the Kingdom of Hungary five hundred years ago... This is a great merit that can make several or even dozens of saints!
"Lord! The barbarians in this jungle continent, although they have different skin colors, backward civilization, and have never been civilized... But they have not been poisoned by other evil pagans, and are still in the ignorant state of animism... Perhaps, they can also become Christians who believe in the Lord, and become the "Magyars" who are converted by me and obey the church?..."
Obviously, the Catholic faith pursued by Father Faria and the land wealth pursued by Bruno are not the same goal, and their attitudes towards the natives are also very different. The Catholic Church and the kingdom nobles behind them have both common interests in colonizing and opening up the new world, and potential conflicts in controlling the indigenous people.
Of course, in this era, the upper echelons of the Catholic Church have been corrupted, and pious ascetics like Father Faria are truly a minority. The demands of the upper echelons of the church for social wealth and the oppression of the lower believers are actually no different from those of the European nobles, and they are even more greedy...
"Baron Bruno, did your fleet come into contact with other Tupi tribes during this exploration to the south? For example, coastal villages, trade exchanges..."
"Uh! Contact with natives? Yes, of course there are..."
Hearing the "Tupi natives" that the priest was concerned about, Bruno's eyes flashed, but he still kept a smile on his face. The two landings along the way, the slaughtered native villages, the burning fires, and the indulgent laughter of the sailors all flashed through his mind. In the end, he just smiled politely and aristocratically.
"Father Fayal, we conducted friendly and peaceful trade with the natives! We exchanged some worthless glass beads and sailor hats for food supplies from the native villages! Um... yes! It's that white powder, a kind of granulated stick, and some oily nuts. The taste is unexpectedly good... These natives don't have many livestock, and there is no meat in the village. However, although the white powder of the staple food is not resistant to storage and tastes bland, it is still very filling! Just like bread..."
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Seeing Bruno's flashing eyes, Father Faria was silent for a while and shook his head secretly in his heart. He knew the virtues of the Portuguese Kingdom Navy. Looting and killing on the West African coast were common practices. As a priest, he could not stand directly in front of the sailors and officers who were eager to get rich. At most, he could give one or two exhortations. Otherwise, in this wild land overseas, if he blocked the navy fleet's way to make money, even the majesty of the Lord could not save his life.
"The merciful Lord knows everything in the world! Dear Baron Bruno, please try to restrain your men and not carry out unnecessary killings of Tupi natives who can be converted. Although these natives are ignorant, they have not listened to the guidance of the Lord. , but they have never listened to the devil and entered the wrong path of Xingyue... They are not evil, they are potential believers of God. As long as they are willing to convert, they can obtain God's salvation! Well... you ask those who don't want to convert? He is no longer under the protection of the Lord..."
Father Faria was silent, looked at the seaside camp opened in the forest, and said seriously.
"What's more, although the New World is vast, it is full of vast forests, and cleaning it up is very labor-intensive. The reclamation of this colony will only rely on a small number of immigrants from the Kingdom. I don't know how long it will take..."
"Baron Bruno, this is your future 'fiefdom'. Without enough manpower, there will be no output from the land, and there will be no profit! ... You must know that the expansion of colonies on the West African coast relies on converted locals. The tribe is the main force. The naturalized Tupi natives believe in God and use the native people’s manpower, which will definitely have long-term benefits for you and the kingdom..."
When talking about the specific "money path", Bruno's expression finally became serious. From sailor to captain, isn't it just for those shiny "cute things" that you surrender your life to the unpredictable and terrifying sea? If you can have your own overseas fiefdom and manor, and continuously gain wealth while lying down, who would be willing to work hard at sea? …
Bruno pondered for a moment, bowed and asked sincerely.
"Dear Father Faria! You are knowledgeable and know how to manage the land far better than us captains and officers! ... Can you give me some teachings about this new colonial port? Let the colony here also Can we have a steady flow of wealth like the coast of West Africa?…”
"Hmm...the management of this colony?..."
Father Faria spread his right hand, looked at the calluses on his hand, and made a prayer cross. Then, he first pointed to the surrounding woods and said.
"There is wealth in this forest! The sailors hunted brightly colored birds and running animals. The bird feathers and animal skins are all goods that can be traded. However, hunting is unsustainable. Really large and stable goods , it should be the redwoods that are everywhere in these forests!…”
"Redwood?..."
"That's right! These mahogany trees are, first of all, extremely fine wood. They can be made into furniture that the nobles like. They are very valuable in the Lisbon market! It's easy to just transport the mahogany wood back to Lisbon. After all, the load is too large and you can't transport much in one trip. It’s rotten, so it’s better to extract the dye on the spot…”
"Red is a symbol of wealth and power. Red dye is highly sought after not only in the Lisbon market, but also in the wealthy Italian states. The red dye that can be extracted from mahogany is worth at least 10 dollars per pound if shipped to Italy. Gold coins are the most valuable 'goods' in this colony!"
"Ah! Red dye! Ten gold coins per pound?! Isn't that a barrel of hundreds of pounds of dye worth thousands of gold coins?..."
Hearing this, Bruno was shocked, as if he heard the crisp sound of gold coins colliding. He couldn't help swallowing and asked.
"Dear Father! Can you extract the dye from mahogany?..."
"Baron Bruno, it is not difficult to extract the dye. You only need to chop the redwood into wood chips, and then use a large pot to boil the red juice... However, whether it is logging, collecting fuel, or cooking the wood, it requires a lot of manpower! These people still need to eat and sleep, and they need locally produced food, so they need to cultivate fields and build houses... I am afraid that the colony needs a scale of thousands of people and cultivates thousands of acres of farmland to stably produce a few barrels of dye every month... "
Father Faria went around in circles and once again brought the topic back to colonial manpower. He smiled slightly, squatted down again, took a handful of brick-red soil (latosol) in his hand, and handed it to Bruno.
"Baron Bruno, please taste this soil!"
"Well?…"
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Bruno was startled, then dipped his finger into some soil and tasted it lightly. But except for the slightly sweet earthy smell, he tasted nothing.
"Father, what is this?"
"Is this soil sour?"
"Hmm...not sour."
"Is it salty?"
"Not salty, just a little bit sweet."
"Is it soft or loose? Oh, you don't need to taste it this time, just squeeze it!"
".Very soft and loose. When pinched...it feels good..."
"It feels good, that's right! Although the red soil here is close to the sea, it is not saline-alkali soil, nor is it acidic soil! It is good soil for farming! Although it is not fertile, it is loose and thick, making it easy to plant. So earthy!…”
Father Faria nodded with a smile and spread the red soil in his hand back to the Brazilian earth. Then, he looked at the red land, the green forest sea, felt the hot tropical climate, and the abundant moisture brought by the Bogetong River, and sighed sincerely.
"Praise the Lord! The coast of this New World is richer, warmer and more humid than the coast of West Africa! If my guess is correct, the climate and environment here will be more suitable for growing sugar cane than the already developed Madeira Islands!" That is to say, if this colony has enough manpower and enough livestock and poultry to provide fertilizer, it can produce sugar in large quantities..."
"What? Sugar cane? Sugar! Sugar worth more than gold!!..."
At this moment, hearing the priest's words, Bruno was shocked! This red Brazilian land was like a layer of golden light, completely mesmerizing his eyes and his heart.
"Lord! The new southern continent where sugar cane can be grown? This is truly the Canaan of milk and honey, the fertile land bestowed by God on the Kingdom of Portugal!..."