Chapter 374: Are You Questioning My Professional Ability?
"Micronesia? Have gold deposits been discovered there? There have been quite a few gold deposits discovered in recent years."
This was Sven's first reaction.
"It's not a gold mine, it's a phosphate mine. According to Chinese maritime classics, there is an island in this area. Many seabirds and migratory birds stop on the island. Over the years, a layer of guano that is several meters thick has accumulated.
These guano are the fertilizer that California needs most right now. "
Liang Yao started making nonsense.
"The Chinese have also been to this sea area? I thought only the Dutch and the British have been to this sea area." Sven said with some surprise.
The first people to arrive in Micronesia were the Dutch. Although the Dutch were the first colonists to discover the islands in Micronesia, they did not colonize the islands in Micronesia.
This is not because the Dutch are kind, but because the Micronesian Islands only have poor indigenous people who cannot even afford clothes. After surveying, the Dutch did not find any high-value goods on the islands in this area, so they abandoned them. Returned to Batavia and explored the area no more.
After all, colonization also costs money, and these colonists will not do business at a loss.
Following the Dutch East India Company, British colonial companies also explored these waters.
However, like the Dutch, the British did not find any high-value goods in these islands. After a hasty exploration, they also lost interest in the islands in this sea area.
Speaking politely, Liang Yao unfolded the map and looked at the scattered islands in Micronesia and continued: "It would be easy to find this archipelago, but you have to find a specific island, such as the one you mentioned. It is difficult to find this island recorded in Chinese navigation classics.
There are at least thousands of large and small islands in this place, unless you can give me the precise longitude and latitude. Besides, phosphate mines are found in Peru, Bolivia, and Chile, and they are much closer to us. There is no need to go to great lengths to find the islands in the so-called navigation books. "
Sven is not very enthusiastic about exploring Micronesia.
The senior leaders of the Dutch Colonial Company and the British Colonial Company were not very good people. They had been to Micronesia but did not colonize it. It must be that there was really nothing worth colonizing in these places.
If there was something really good, the Dutch Colonial Company, the British Colonial Company and other expeditions would have claimed sovereignty over these islands long ago.
Furthermore, Siwen's understanding of China was relatively superficial. Siwen had only heard that the Chinese emperor sent an unprecedented large fleet to visit the oceans in the early 15th century.
This was the only Chinese sailing activity he knew of.
He was shocked when he first heard that the Chinese had such a large fleet a century before Columbus discovered the American continent.
It’s just that Sven really doesn’t understand why the Chinese, who had such a huge fleet and relevant navigation technology in the 15th century, are still huddled on the East Asian continent four centuries later and were easily defeated by the British expeditionary fleet.
You must know that only the British can organize a fleet of the same size with the strength of the whole country.
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[1850 American Gold Tycoon]
With China's size, if it started colonizing from then on, there would probably be nothing left for European countries.
Of course, Sven was just confused, and he didn't bother to explore the deeper reasons.
He is a sailor-turned-captain who is only interested in ships, the prostitutes in the port, and making money.
Sven has no interest in boring historical books.
"This island is located about 60 kilometers south of the equator, and its longitude is between 165 and 169 degrees east longitude. Can we find this island with this information?
South American countries like Peru are rich in phosphate mines, of course I know this, but the British colonial companies dyed the country, and I never like to be choked. "
Referring to the latitude and longitude on the map, Liang Yao drew a small circle in the Micronesia region of the Central Pacific with a pencil.
This was a record of the geographical location of Nauru that he vaguely remembered in his mind.
As for the exact accuracy, he couldn't remember clearly. He only remembered that the latitude of Nauru Island was greater than 165 degrees and less than 170 degrees.
I wonder if Sven can find this island with this information.
The phosphate mineral layer on Nauru Island is 10 meters thick, covering 60% of the entire island, with reserves of more than 100 million tons.
As long as Nauru is captured, the people of Peru, Bolivia and Chile will be anxious.
The phosphate mines in South America lost their bargaining power in front of him.
The reserve of 100 million tons is a phosphate mine located on the surface of an island. It can be used by Liang Yao until the era of chemical fertilizers.
"Are you paying tribute to my professional ability? With such a clear positioning range, if I can't find this island, wouldn't my twenty years of service as a sailor and first mate be in vain?" Sven rolled his eyes at Liang Yao.
"Unless the records in Chinese navigation books are wrong, if the records are correct, it will only take me two to three months to discover this island!"
The information about the location of the island given by Liang Yao was clear enough. Sven had been a crew member and captain for more than 20 years. If he could not find this island again, he would have no shame in continuing to be the president of Global Shipping Company.
"Then I'm waiting for your good news."
Seeing Sven was so sure, Liang Yao rubbed his hands excitedly and said, "If you find this island, it will be named after you. Don't forget to declare sovereignty on the island and bring the American flag, the California state flag, and the flag of the American Group."
"It sounds a bit strange to name an island full of bird shit after someone else." Sven couldn't help but complain.
Accompanied by the harsh roar of the steam engine and the scream of the brakes of the wheels.
The train arrived at the town of Reno, the supply station for Nevada gold diggers.
The security in the gold rush area is the worst in the entire California region, without a doubt.
Three years ago, the worst places in California were San Francisco and Sacramento.
But with the establishment of California, the gold rush in San Francisco and Sacramento decreased, and the gold diggers turned their attention to Nevada deep in the inland.
Reno and Carson in Nevada became new places of opportunity. Of course, opportunities are often accompanied by risks, and this is also the most dangerous place in California.
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[1850 American Gold Tycoon]
The danger here is not the harsh environment and the wild beasts everywhere.
The competitors and even companions around the gold diggers are sometimes more dangerous than the wild beasts.
Although there are also gold mining companies from large consortiums settled in Nevada, such as the Xiangshan Gold Mining Company under the American Group.
However, since there are still many gold producing areas in Nevada that have not been discovered, many ordinary gold mining teams without big backgrounds and big capital support also prefer to try their luck in Nevada.