The Rise of the European Emperor

Lisbon, Portugal, Enke was drinking in a Portuguese tavern while looking for a target.

It was Marin who had arranged for Kohler to come to Portugal to find black slave suppliers. Panama needed a lot of labor to build a road to the Pacific Ocean. For the time being, Marin didn't want to provoke the fierce Panamanians in the local jungle, so buying black slaves became the first choice. After all, blacks are accustomed to living in the rainforest, at least much more resilient to the climate of Panama than whites.

Also, blacks are powerful enough to cut down trees to make way. At present, only Portugal has the deepest connection with Africa. Don't look at Spain also in Africa, but only in North Africa, dealing only with Arabs and Berbers. Portugal is the only European country dealing with black Africans. Therefore, if you want to buy black slaves, you can only find Portuguese.

However, the Portuguese have not yet been involved in the slave trade. why? Because the emergence of Marin changed history, so that Portugal did not discover and develop Brazil in 1500 as it did in the original history. The development of Brazil was the original driving force for Portugal to sell black slaves. Therefore, the Portuguese have not started to sell slaves on a large scale.

However, the Portuguese did not start to sell black slaves, which does not mean that they did not have a channel to sell black slaves. You must know that the sale of black slaves was not initiated by Europeans at all, but by local black chiefs to sell them to Portuguese businessmen.

Just like the piggy Chinese workers in the 19th century, if there is no bastard cooperation within Huaxia, can foreigners come and kidnap people? After all, if there are no evil spirits and bastards within the country, outsiders can't intervene.

And this point is never mentioned in the "politically correct" history books, only the colonists are blamed.

Just imagine, if there were no traitors like Wu Sangui and Hong Chengchou, and the Qing Dynasty, would there be a chance to enter the customs? Historically, people's attitudes towards the Yuan Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty were different.

Why? Because the Yuan Dynasty had the ability to crush the world at that time, the Southern Song Dynasty was already weak, and it was not surprising that it was destroyed. The Manchus, on the other hand, did not have that kind of power at that time. If it weren't for the traitors leading the way, there would be no braided dynasty at all. Therefore, there are many Ming fans in later generations, regretting the demise of the Ming Dynasty. However, not many people regret the demise of the Southern Song Dynasty. Because the Southern Song Dynasty couldn't help it at all. If you don't hang up, there is no chance of being spared. Even the Northern Song Dynasty was not enough to fight against the Mongolian Iron Cavalry in the peak era.

Likewise, the Portuguese wouldn't have thought of selling slaves if it wasn't for those African chiefs who actively promoted it. Therefore, fortresses are often breached from the inside. If a country is not united, then it is not far from extinction.

Of course, the Portuguese are not a good thing either. After these guys tasted the sweetness of selling black slaves, and the development of Brazil just needs a lot of labor, they can start selling black slaves, encouraging African chiefs to stab each other with spears, and then get black slaves, and these Portuguese in exchange Poor merchandise, useless stuff like glass beads...

However, at this stage, because Brazil has not been developed, there is no demand for slave trade in Portugal. In addition, the Holy See prohibits the sale of slaves, so it is still very difficult to find a businessman who sells black slaves.

Therefore, these days, Enke has been hanging out in the major taverns in Lisbon, looking for local brokers and inquiring about black slaves.

Although, the Portuguese have not yet begun to actively trade slaves. However, Marin can be sure that in the process of trade between Portuguese and African chiefs, there must be some poor African chiefs who recommended black slaves to Portuguese businessmen.

Therefore, Enke's task is to find out which Portuguese chamber of commerce has channels to buy black slaves. Therefore, he needs to find brokers, to find those shipowners who often go to the West African coast to trade, and ask them about the source of black slaves.

However, after meeting several ship owners in a row, Enke did not get good news. Those ship owners are all going to exchange gold sand and ivory with the African chiefs. Probably the situation on the customer's side is stable.

I haven't heard of any black slaves.

However, Enke did not give up. Because there are at least hundreds of merchant ships in Portugal on the west coast of Africa, and there is no news on a few ships, so let's inquire...

With the help of a broker, Enke met a captain named Okaro. This person is a servant of Jorge de Rencastre, Duke of Coimbra, Portugal, and is responsible for the trade of Elmina, a colonial point on the coast of Ghana.

The background of this Duke of Coimbra is very big. Jorge de Rencastre is the illegitimate son of the previous Portuguese King Joao II. After the accidental death of Alfonso, the real crown prince, John II wanted to ask the Pope to make his illegitimate son Jorge de Rencastre the rightful heir to the king. However, the great nobles who were hostile to Joao II also spent money and bribes at the Holy See, which cost more than Joao II. In the end, the then Pope Alexander VI ruled that Jorge de Rencastre had no legal right to inherit. In desperation, Joao II could only pass the throne to Manuel I. However, Manuel I was asked to canonize Jorge de Rencastre as Duke of Coimbra and to obtain the management of the Madeira Islands. In this way, Jorge de Rencastre, who owns the Principality of Coimbra and Madeira, became the most powerful nobleman under Manuel I.

Of course, Jorge de Rencastre's influence not only covers the Principality of Coimbra and Madeira, the Portuguese colonial stronghold of Emilna in Ghana (Gold Coast), Jorge de Renca There are also ships in Strei where ordinary commodities are exchanged for sand and ivory for African chiefs. And Okaro is the captain of one of the several merchant ships under Jorge de Rencastre that often go to the Gold Coast to trade.

Okaro recalled that when Emilna was trading, there were indeed a few impoverished African chiefs who wanted to trade with him with black slaves in exchange for gold and ivory, but he refused. After being rejected by Okaro, the poor African chieftains were still very angry and asked Okaro to eat a spear in public. However, under the supervision of Emilna's Portuguese colonial army, those African chiefs gave up their plan to give Okaro a spear...

"So, you want to buy black slaves? But, as I remember, the Holy See doesn't allow the sale of slaves..." Okaro asked suspiciously.

"That's in Europe. We want black slaves to develop the wild continent." Enke said indifferently. He knows that the current Pope is partial to their Duke, and selling a few black slaves is a bird...

"That's right, it's not difficult for me to get black slaves for you. However, I can't control this matter, so I have to ask the Duke for advice!"

"Then wait for the good news, Captain Okaro!" After that, a small bag of gold coins fell into Captain Okaro's sleeve unknowingly. And Captain Okaro also skillfully hid the gold coins.

The next day, the Duke of Coimbra's instructions came down - the slave trade is okay, but the buyer needs to send a ship to Madeira to pick it up. After all, black slaves cannot appear in Europe, lest they be caught by the Holy See. Therefore, the meaning of Jorge de Rencastre, Duke of Coimbra, is to trade secretly in his territory, the Madeira Islands.

In this regard, Enke naturally has no opinion. Coincidentally, the ships going to America also pass through Madeira.

However, in terms of price, the Coimbra lion has a big opening, asking for 100 gold coins, which is equivalent to 25 pounds. In this era when the price revolution has not yet erupted, such a price is considered a high price. Only Kaizi is willing to spend such a high price to buy black slaves...

Because Europeans still had no demand for black slaves at this time, the price of black slaves could not go up. You only need to spend a few gold coins worth of goods, you can exchange for a black slave. Even at the beginning of the 19th century, when the price of black slaves was the most expensive, and after the price revolution, in Mozambique, Africa, Portuguese merchants spent at most ten or twenty pounds worth of goods, and they could "see the world" (here said The fact that they have seen the world means that the African chiefs will no longer be cheated of gold and ivory by the colonists with a few glass beads. Because they have traded more often with European colonists, and they know some trade conditions.) In the hands of the African chieftains, they got strong slaves.

Commodities costing a few gold coins, black slaves in exchange, want to sell 100 gold coins, obviously no one wants to be such a good child. So, Enke asked for a counter-offer. After several hagglings, the price of a black slave was set at 40 gold coins each. In fact, this has given the Duke of Coimbra seven or eight times the profit.

In addition, Jorge de Rencastre, Duke of Coimbra, identified the source of black slaves on the island of Sao Tome. There, Jorge de Rencastrell also had his own power.

Moreover, on the island of Sao Tome, there are already sugar cane plantations. The labor force is the black slaves bought at low prices from places such as Congo and Gabon. As early as 1499, the Portuguese established several sugar cane plantations on the island of Sao Tome. Jorge de Rencastre, Duke of Coimbra, also has his own sugar cane plantation on the island of Sao Tome.

This is something Marin, who calls himself the "Emperor of History", doesn't know. Marin always thought that the slave trade would not start until Portugal had opened up Brazil. In fact, on the island of Sao Tome off the coast of Gabon, the Portuguese started using black slaves to open sugar cane plantations in 1499.

On the island of Sao Tome, the "purchase price" of a black slave is just an ordinary commodity worth two or three gold coins, which is very cheap.

In fact, if not for Marin's intervention in history. In 1501, the Spanish colony of Hispaniola should also have imported the first black slaves from Portugal. However, the two kings of Spain were seduced by Marin and went to India and Portugal to compete for the interests of the spice trade. As a result, the development of Hispaniola was suspended. Coupled with the subsequent incident of syphilis, Hispaniola is now almost abandoned by the Spaniards.

Enke was satisfied, but he didn't know that Jorge de Lencastre, Duke of Coimbra, laughed. For a hero like Enke, Jorge de Rencastre thinks the more the better.

If the death in the process of transporting black slaves is not considered, the black slave trade of 40 gold coins can bring almost ten times the profit to the Duke of Coimbra. Even if half of them died in transit, there would be five or six times the huge profits...

However, this time Enke was lucky to be able to buy black slaves in Portugal. Because he happened to meet Jorge de Rencastre, Duke of Coimbra. If you meet Manuel I, no one will sell it to him even if he is willing to pay.

Why? Because of Marin, Columbus helped Spain explore the real India, causing Spain to compete with Portugal for business. Can the Portuguese not hate Marin? As the representative of Marin, Enke would not be bothered by ordinary Portuguese nobles at all.

However, the Duke of Coimbra is an exception. Because, he and Manuel I are actually political enemies. After all, the two had competed for the Portuguese throne at the beginning. Moreover, the huge profits of India's spice trade are in the hands of Manuel I's faction, and have nothing to do with Jorge, Duke of Coimbra.

Even, Marin broke the good deeds of Manuel I, and also aroused the goodwill of the Duke of Coimbra. Therefore, when I heard that Marin wanted to buy black slaves, and the price was high enough, the Duke of Coimbra was willing to trade with them. Otherwise, changing to a nobleman from the faction of Manuel I, it is estimated that he can send someone to beat Enke out with a stick, and not give him a chance to speak...

In this way, Enke reached a trade agreement on behalf of Marin and the Duke of Coimbra. At the price of 40 gold coins for a strong and honest black slave, the first batch of 200 people was ordered, and the total contract price was 8,000 gold coins.

After signing the contract, Jorge de Rencastre, Duke of Coimbra, sent a boat south to Sao Tome Island to prepare black slaves. Enke, on the other hand, went north to return to China, reported the results to Marin, and was ready to accept the first batch of black slave ships, and was ready to pay the relevant fees...

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