Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 259: Waves Rising (VI)

Panama City, as an important hub connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, is a key transit point for the Spanish Kingdom to transport gold and silver from Peru. Therefore, it has always been a target coveted by pirates.

In 1572, the famous English pirate Drake led two small boats and more than crew members and sneaked into the Isthmus of Panama, preparing to intercept gold and silver shipped from Peru.

They lay in ambush in the dense jungle of the Isthmus of Panama for several months, enduring the hot and humid climate and the bites of mosquitoes, and finally successfully attacked a Spanish transport team and stole a large amount of gold and silver.

Although this guy did not take advantage of the situation to attack Panama City, his actions severely hit Spain's transportation lines and put Panama City into an extremely tense state for a time.

This attack made the Spanish realize the vulnerability of the Isthmus of Panama, and they subsequently strengthened the defenses in the area to deal with the threat of pirates.

Drake then fled to the Pacific coast, where he achieved great success, plundering more than 50 pounds of wealth, making him a hero throughout the Kingdom of England.

In 1596, he was again ordered to go to the Caribbean, with the goal of completely destroying Panama City and cutting off the Spanish wealth transfer channel.

This time, he had a strong army and led a fleet of more than 20 ships and more than 2,000 people, marching towards the Isthmus of Panama.

Drake first attacked Puerto Bello (now Portobelo, Panama) on the Atlantic coast, preparing to cross the isthmus from here and attack Panama City.

However, they encountered a strong counterattack from the Spanish and failed to achieve a decisive victory.

Not long after, his fleet encountered bad weather and disease near the Isthmus of Panama, resulting in heavy casualties.

Drake himself fell ill and died during this expedition, and ultimately failed to achieve his goal of capturing Panama City.

Although Drake died, his "heroic deeds" inspired countless English pirates, who all used his glorious example to "whip" themselves, hoping to replicate his success in America and obtain unimaginable wealth and status.

At 1633 a.m. on November 11, 16, two pirate ships left the Pearl Islands and quietly approached Panama City, about to launch an attack on Spain's most important colonial outpost.

The Beagle and the Carmarthen were two privateering ships authorized by the English royal family. They followed the route that Drake had taken, from one side of the Atlantic Ocean, through the turbulent Strait of Magellan, and arrived in the Pacific Ocean, ready to harvest the wealth that "belonged" to them.

It is said that the defense here is very loose compared to the Caribbean and the Atlantic coast of America. Many Spanish port towns do not have the necessary forts or even city walls.

The arrogant Spaniards regarded the vast Pacific Ocean as their inland sea, not allowing ships from any country to enter, and enjoying everything there: gold, silver, fertile land and docile slaves.

The Spanish enjoyed the wealth of the Americas exclusively, and every year they shipped shiploads of gold and silver back to their homeland, which made all Europeans jealous and crazy.

Back then, Drake swept across the entire Pacific coast of America with only one ship, attacked ports, seized treasure ships, plundered hundreds of thousands of pounds, and returned to England in glory.

The Beagle and the Carmarthen sailed in the Caribbean for more than a month, but their gains were very limited. Not only did they fail to capture a Spanish coastal town, they didn't even rob a decent Spanish merchant ship, which was very disappointing.

After the Spanish were defeated in the Battle of Antwerp in September 1631, in order to defend the fragile Atlantic shipping routes and ensure that gold and silver from the Americas could be transported smoothly to their homeland, they deployed their few remaining warships to the Atlantic and Caribbean regions.

At the same time, in order to prevent pirate looting, the Spanish government implemented strict fleet escort operations, gathering merchant ships traveling to and from the Atlantic Ocean, and then escorting them throughout the journey by armed warships, which made it impossible for these pirates to take action for a while.

After a brief discussion, the two pirate ships decided to join forces and sail to the Pacific, hoping to find a way to replicate Drake's exploits. As they had anticipated, there was no competition from other European colonists in the Pacific, and the Spanish were minimally armed, practically nonexistent.

They moved north along the Chilean coastline, successively captured several Spanish port towns, and looted nearly 20,000 pounds of gold, silver and other equivalent materials.

However, their looting was not always smooth sailing. More than 20 days ago, they encountered a strong counterattack from the Spanish in the port of Valparaiso and failed.

It's not their fault. After all, this port is very close to Santiago, the seat of the Spanish Governor-General of Chile, and has two hundred soldiers stationed there, which is far beyond what these pirates can handle.

When the two pirate ships arrived at the port of Arica, they learned from interrogating the captured Spanish port officials that the Viceroyalty of Peru had already sent the gold and silver to be delivered to the mainland this year to the Royal Treasury in Panama City for storage in advance. Then, after the treasure ship arrived in the Americas, it would be transferred to the Port of Bello on the Atlantic side via the Isthmus Plank Road for loading and finally transported to Seville.

After hearing the news, the pirates' eyes lit up and without any hesitation, they sailed straight towards Panama City.

When they arrived at the Pearl Islands west of Panama City, they found a secluded island, rested for a while, and replenished a large amount of fresh water to make final preparations for the upcoming raid.

However, just as the two pirate ships set sail and were about to approach the port of Panama, something unexpected happened.

They came across a small fleet, a medium-sized three-masted sailing ship and two slender boats.

This fleet did not raise any flags to identify itself, and when they discovered the two pirate ships, they did not turn around and flee immediately. Instead, they slowed down very cautiously and confronted them from a distance.

It is obvious that this fleet does not belong to the Spanish.

"We might have run into fellow travelers," Captain John Stone of the Beagle put down his telescope and said to his first mate with a smile. "Besides, their goal is the same as ours: Panama City!"

"Captain, do we need to drive them away?" asked First Mate Ron Palmer.

"Why drive them away?" John Stone shook his head and said, "I think we can try to cooperate with them. Yes, we should unite and attack Panama City together. That way, our chances of success will be greatly increased."

"But this also means that we need to give them some of the wealth that originally belonged to us." Ron Palmer licked his lips.

"Haha..." John Stone laughed uncontrollably. "Dear Ron, we haven't even touched the walls of Panama yet, and you've already taken all the city's wealth!... No, no, no, we can't be so greedy. You know, when attacking a port fortress like Panama, the more forces we can mobilize, the better. If we rely on ourselves, I'm afraid it will be difficult to capture this city."

"Well, okay." Ron Palmer shrugged and said, "Then how can we be sure that they are willing to cooperate with us? Maybe they are also thinking about how to drive us out so that they can enjoy the wealth of Panama City alone."

"Haha..." John Stone smiled slightly. "The situation is clear now. If we both try to monopolize Panama City and resort to fighting each other to determine the winner, both of us will lose. Not only will we weaken each other's strength, but it will also give the Spanish in Panama City an early warning, allowing them to strengthen their defenses."

"If we do this, we'll both gain nothing except mutual harm. On the contrary, if we sincerely cooperate and capture Panama City together, we can obtain a huge fortune. Well, even if the wealth to be distributed will be reduced, it's still much better than having nothing."

"If the other party's leader is a more rational person, he will definitely choose to cooperate with us. ...Yes, I am absolutely sure!"

(End of this chapter)