Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 413 The Speculative Dutch
On September 10, 1639, the bells of Fort Zeelandia rang precisely at eight o'clock in the morning. Johann van der Burgh stood on the terrace of the Governor's Palace, his fingers tapping incessantly on the teak railing.

He had just received an urgent report from Fujian: Manila was under siege by nearly 10,000 armed Chinese, the situation was extremely dangerous, and the city was likely to fall within a month.

"Has Captain Peder arrived?" Borg asked without turning his head, his gaze still fixed on the company's armed merchant ships anchored in the harbor.

“They are already waiting in the council chamber, Your Excellency,” the young clerk, John Van Lun, replied respectfully, holding a thick stack of documents.

Inside the council chamber, five senior officials of the Dutch East India Company stationed in Zeelandia sat around a long table.

The map of Taiwan hanging on the wall was illuminated by candlelight, with the cities of San Salvador (present-day Keelung) and Santo Domingo (present-day Tamsui Fort Santo Domingo) in the north prominently circled in red.

"Gentlemen..." Berg strode into the room and slammed a letter on the table, "The Spanish are in more trouble in the Philippines than we thought. A Chinese uprising has broken out in Manila, numbering over ten thousand, and it's said that a Chinese armed force from the north is assisting them."

Captain Thomas Pedel—a neatly bearded German mercenary officer—immediately straightened his back: “Your Excellency, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The Spanish garrison in northern Taiwan numbers no more than two hundred men, and most of them are native soldiers transferred from the Philippines.”

“Exactly,” Borg said with a sly smile. “I have ordered the ‘Poseidon’ and the ‘Zeland’ to prepare for battle. Captain Peder, I need you to lead four hundred soldiers to take all the Spanish strongholds in one fell swoop.”

Treasurer William van der Heiden frowned. "Your Excellency, could this trigger a full-blown confrontation with Spain in the region? What about the board of directors...?"

“William!” Burger interrupted him. “Previously, we were somewhat wary of the Spanish because of their long-standing and deep-rooted presence in the Philippine Islands, and dared not launch an attack against them. But what did the arrogant Spanish do? More than a decade ago, they actually landed directly on the northern part of Formosa Island, established a colonial outpost, and blatantly threatened our Fort Zeelandia.”

"But now, everything is different. After more than 30 years of continuous expansion, our Dutch East India Company has surpassed the Spanish in strength. It is time to launch a counterattack against them. All we need is a favorable opportunity."

"So, with the outbreak of large-scale Chinese riots in the Spanish Philippines, which put the Spanish in a precarious situation, the opportunity we have been waiting for has arrived."

“Well, Your Excellency, your astute judgment has convinced me.” Van der Hai shrugged. “However, I hope this military operation can end as soon as possible, so as not to affect our normal trade.”

“William, you can rest assured!” Borg said confidently. “The board sent us here for trade, but even more so for profit. Think about it, if we control the entire Formosa Island, we can monopolize the trade routes to Japan. The Spanish are currently preoccupied with their own problems; once they resolve their troubles in the Philippines, San Salvador and Santo Domingo will already be ours.”

“I guarantee that this military operation will not last more than half a month. Because, the foolish Spanish, in order to defend Manila, withdrew a large number of troops from two northern strongholds back to the Philippines more than half a month ago. So…” Borg said, looking directly at Captain Peder, “our offensive will be extremely successful, and all the expected objectives will be achieved.”

“Yes, Your Excellency!” Captain Peder nodded solemnly and replied, “We will take the most decisive and swift action to eliminate all the Spaniards in the north in one fell swoop.”

After the meeting, the entire Zeelandia Castle went on high alert.

Three armed merchant ships gathered in the port, and the sailors were busy unloading ammunition and supplies.

Captain Peder personally selected four hundred elite soldiers, including thirty experienced engineers.

“Remember, speed is key,” Captain Peder addressed his officers on deck. “We must breach their walls before the Spanish can react.”
-
In May 1626, in order to counter the Dutch influence in southern Formosa and control East Asian trade routes, the Spanish Philippine colonial authorities dispatched an expeditionary fleet to land at Keelung Bay in the north of the island and establish San Salvador as a colonial outpost.

Subsequently, Spain gradually expanded into freshwater and built the city of Santo Domingo.

Over the next decade or so, the Spanish, centered around Keelung and Freshwater, gradually expanded their influence to cover the entire northern part of the island and parts of the inland areas.

They built churches within their territory and forcibly spread Catholicism to the indigenous people.

Of course, the Spanish occupation of northern Formosa was not merely for missionary work, but also to explore trade with Japan and China, thereby completing a crucial link in the trans-Pacific trade chain.

Unfortunately, the results were never significant, and in order to maintain local colonial rule, the Manila colonial authorities needed to continuously provide financial support.

Therefore, for a long time, Manila considered giving up Formosa Island several times.

However, driven by the need to contain the Dutch, the Spanish gritted their teeth and persevered.

However, a few months ago, a shocking piece of news came from Manila, immediately plunging the Spanish Formosa colonial authorities into panic.

Manila is under heavy siege!

More than ten armed merchant ships from Xinhua arrived in the Philippines, and then joined forces with more than 10,000 local Chinese to launch the most ferocious attack on us Spanish.

It is said that more than 5,000 Chinese rioters have surrounded Manila. They have dismantled seven or eight cannons from the ships of the new Chinese and bombarded the city walls day and night. The situation is extremely critical.

In addition, thousands of rioters, led by small groups of Xinhua armed personnel, raided and plundered Spanish villages and manors, and brutally killed all the captured Spaniards and native servants.

Gold, silver, cloth, valuables, and grain were all looted.

This is the most serious military crisis the country has faced since the Spanish Kingdom began colonizing the Philippines in 1565, more than seventy years ago.

If we fail to respond effectively, our great Kingdom of Spain may lose this Eastern colonial territory.

"Why are the new Chinese suddenly showing us such hostility?"

On September 20th, the afternoon sun shone brightly on Jilong Bay, and the sea breeze gently brushed against the low stone walls of San Salvador, bringing a touch of coolness and slightly dispelling the heat.

The Spanish soldiers in the city were already used to the damp climate, but in the past month, an unusual tension and unease had permeated the entire city.

Governor Gonzalo Portillo of Formosa walked slowly to the armory, preparing to once again inspect the city's military supplies.

In fact, he already knew exactly how many soldiers San Salvador had left, how many arquebuses he had, and how many barrels of gunpowder he had stored.

But his inner anxiety and unease still made him come over every day to check on things.

It's as if, without doing this, there will always be a weight on my heart that I can't lift.

"Oh, damn it, this barrel of gunpowder is damp!" Sheriff Diego Mendoza's angry roar echoed through the empty armory.

“Diego, calm down.” Portillo stood in the doorway, his face equally grim.

His beard hadn't been trimmed for days, and his eyes were sunken, clearly indicating that he had barely slept a wink in the past month.

"Now is not the time to complain, much less to vent anger for no reason. We must do our best to boost the morale of the soldiers and civilians in the city, and ensure that the remaining supplies can last until reinforcements from Manila arrive."

Since Manila urgently dispatched 130 soldiers from Formosa to reinforce the city a month ago, the defense of San Salvador has been stretched thin.

The threat from the southern Dutch, the hostility of the local indigenous people, and the occasional passing Ming Dynasty ships kept the Spanish on edge, fearing a sudden attack from any side. Some suggested that, given the severe shortage of defensive forces, they should temporarily abandon Santo Domingo and concentrate their limited resources on San Salvador.

In this way, regardless of the attack from any side, it would have the capability to fight, thus preserving this most important Spanish colonial stronghold.

However, this proposal was strongly opposed by Bishop Alcalá, who believed that the believers in the city of Santo Domingo and the surrounding area should not be easily abandoned and subjected to the harm of barbarians.

Unless, of course, all of the Lord’s people are also evacuated to San Salvador.

How can this be! ?
With several thousand more people added out of nowhere, San Salvador's already meager supplies would be depleted in just a few days.

In that case, what's the point of guarding it?
If the Dutch come knocking, you can choose to surrender immediately.

"Reinforcements?" Mendoza smiled bitterly when he heard Portillo mention reinforcements from Manila. "Governor, Manila is struggling to survive, how could it possibly send reinforcements to Formosa? Those Chinese rioters, led by the New Zealanders, have been besieging the city for over two months, and it's still uncertain whether they can hold it."

Portillo did not answer, but silently turned and walked towards the city wall.

He gazed at the distant sea, a sense of unease churning within him.

The term "New Zealanders" is not unfamiliar to Spaniards, as it has been repeatedly mentioned in letters from Manila.

It is said that they were also Chinese from the Eastern continent, who sailed thousands of miles to the northwest coast of the Americas to settle and prosper.

They had defeated expeditionary fleets organized by the New Mexico colonial authorities and plundered Spanish port towns and ships along the American coast and in the Pacific Ocean.

They won the right to survive and colonize the northwestern coast of America through a war.

Every year, they would organize a large number of ships to come to Ming China to recruit Chinese immigrants.

Their soldiers were well-equipped and well-trained, and even more familiar with the use of firearms than we Spanish were.

All of this is completely contrary to his understanding of the Chinese community.

After all, most Chinese in the Philippines are quite docile, and even when faced with much oppression from the Spanish, they choose to silently endure it.

It was precisely because the Chinese were weak and easily bullied that the Philippine colonial authorities brazenly took "decisive measures" against them and launched a brutal purge.

The methods may have been a little bloody, and the scope of the killings may have exceeded the original plan, but none of the Spaniards were too worried about it.

Since the Ming government did not intervene more than 30 years ago, they are even less likely to stop the Spanish now that they are facing internal and external troubles.

As for Zheng Yiguan, who is becoming increasingly powerful in Ming Dynasty waters, he would not likely interfere in Luzon without the government's permission.

He seemed to value trade between Japan and Ming more, as well as political maneuvering in Ming officialdom.

It should be noted that many years ago, Formosa Island was within Zheng Yiguan's sphere of influence and was directly controlled and governed by him.

But ever since he accepted the appointment from the Ming government and became a high-ranking general, he has given up everything here without hesitation.

Ultimately, it benefited the Spanish.

Oh, right, and the Dutch from the south too.

"Your Excellency!" A young soldier rushed up the city wall, his voice trembling with rapid breathing, "The Dutch are here!... They've attacked Santo Domingo!"

Portillo's heart sank.

Damn it, the Dutch have finally found their chance.

Taking advantage of our weakened defenses, they actually sent troops to attack, aiming to completely seize the island.

"Ring the bell! ...A citywide mobilization!"

With that, Portillo turned and descended the city wall, walking briskly toward the governor's mansion.
-
"Advance!" Captain Peder raised his saber, and hundreds of armed soldiers surged toward the breach in the city wall like a tidal wave.

The Spanish garrison in Santo Domingo attempted to retaliate with muskets, but as more and more enemies drew closer, they had no choice but to drop their muskets, draw their swords, and put up a final stand.

"Surrender, Spaniards!" Peder shouted in broken Spanish. "You have nowhere to go, and no reinforcements will come to your rescue!"

A Spanish lieutenant stood on the crumbling city wall, with only a dozen or so wounded soldiers beside him.

He looked at the Dutch "VOC" flag, then back at his pitiful men, and finally slowly dropped the sword in his hand.

“We surrender…” His voice was hoarse and weary.

“Very good, your choice is wise.” Captain Peder rushed up the city wall in a few strides, a victor’s smile on his face. “Given your voluntary surrender, we will guarantee the safety of all of you. We will treat you well until the day you are finally released, until your Spanish government negotiates with us.”

Upon hearing this, the Spaniards all lowered their heads and remained silent.

There weren't many Spaniards in the entire city of Santo Domingo, only about thirty in total. The rest were just conscripted Filipino natives and local subjugated indigenous people.

As for whether they will wait until the day they are exchanged and released after being captured, no one can guarantee it.

Perhaps they would be forgotten or even abandoned by the colonial authorities, and eventually tortured to death in the Dutch penal camps.

Of course, they might also be used as cannon fodder by the East India Company for colonization, dying on some deserted island unknown to anyone.

"Captain..." At that moment, a Dutch sailor rushed over, a hint of panic on his face, "A fleet has arrived outside the mouth of the Freshwater River!"

"Captain Krassen instructs you to prepare for defense immediately after stabilizing order in Santo Domingo!"

"Huh?..." Captain Pedell looked towards the sea in surprise. "What, is someone else taking advantage of us?"
-
(End of this chapter)