Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 49 Want to trade? No way!

In October, the warm sunshine fills the fields, and the ripe cornfields are like a golden ocean, swaying in the breeze, sparkling like the sea.

The residents of Shixing Fort wore straw hats and linen clothes, bending over and working hard in the fields.

Holding sickles, they cut the corn stalks to the ground one by one with skillful and powerful movements.

The rustling sound of sickles rubbing against corn stalks, accompanied by the residents' breathing, formed a melody of harvest.

Behind them, a group of women and children squatted on rows of fallen corn stalks, breaking off the corn cobs with full grains one by one and throwing them into a pile.

Flocks of birds are jumping in the fields, scrambling for the corn kernels that have fallen to the ground, as if they are also sharing the joy of the harvest.

"I estimate the yield per mu will be 400 to 500 kilograms?" Li Xianqing peeled back the leaves of a corn cob, revealing the golden kernels inside, his face filled with excitement. "This is much higher than we initially expected."

"Does it contain corn cobs?" Luo Zhenhui quickly peeled off a corn cob and looked at it in his hand.

"Not counting the cobs." Li Xianqing said with a smile, "The 400 to 500 kilograms of output refers to the dry corn kernels without the cobs."

"Even if the yield per mu is 400 kilograms, then the total output of these 300 mu of land is... over 60 tons!" Luo Zhenhui quickly calculated in his mind. "We have 150 people in Shixing Fort and over 300 Native Americans. This should be enough food for four to five months. If we add 15 tons of wheat and the grain we looted from Mexico, we can definitely sustain us until the summer and autumn harvests next year."

"That's not all," Li Xianqing said optimistically. "We can also catch some fish from the seashore every day, and occasionally hunt wild animals like elk, pheasants, and ducks, which can provide a large amount of meat. This will reduce the rate of food consumption. Oh, and by the way, we also raise more than 20 cattle and sheep, and more than 100 chickens and ducks, which are also a useful supplement to our food supply."

"In other words, we have basically achieved food self-sufficiency."

"That's right." Li Xianqing nodded and turned to look at him, "So, we can get some people over here now."

"It's time to get some people over here." Luo Zhenhui threw the corn cob in his hand into the corn pile, then squatted down, breaking off another corn cob without stopping. "Otherwise, how can we fill up such a large unowned land quickly?"

"How long will it take this time?"

"It might take eight or nine months," Luo Zhenhui said. "After all, we still have to go to Mexico and borrow some money from the Spanish before we can go to Ming to recruit immigrants."

"Ah, it would be great if we could trade with the Spanish, even if it's smuggling." Li Xianqing sighed, "That way, while you're recruiting immigrants on the mainland, you can also purchase some Eastern goods and sell them to the Spanish. This would at least help cover the immigration costs."

"Forget it," Luo Zhenhui said, shaking his head. "The Spanish galleon trade to and from the Philippines was already restricted and controlled by their government. How could they allow us to ship goods to Mexico for sale? Furthermore, with their arrogant attitude and contempt for the natives, they wouldn't allow us to trade."

When Magellan's fleet set out from Spain, passed through the Strait of Magellan to the Philippines, then to Acapulco, Mexico, and finally returned to Spain, it was the first time that the world was connected through sea routes, heralding the arrival of the Age of Sail.

Since 1565, the annual maritime trade route between Spain, Manila in the Philippines and Alpuerto in Mexico has connected the Americas, Europe and the East, promoting the development of economy and trade and social and cultural exchanges in various places along the way.

Logically speaking, it was not the sailing trade that gave birth to globalization, but rather the sailing trade that took advantage of the shipping routes that gradually formed in the process of global trade, which also laid a certain foundation for the history and political landscape of the Pacific region.

The galleon trade brought silk, spices, and various precious commodities from the East to Spanish America, and silver from Mexico and Peru to the East, promoting prosperity along the Pacific coast. It also promoted the Spanish overseas colonization activities and created a Spanish "Empire on which the Sun Never Sets."

In the initial stages of the galleon trade, neither the Spanish mainland government nor the Spanish colonial government in America set up any obstacles or restrictions. It can be said that there was free trade and wild growth.

After several explorations, the final trade route was fixed. Every year from the end of February to mid-to-late March, two large sailing ships set out from Alpuerco Port and sailed southwest to around 12° north latitude. With the help of the North Equatorial Current, they sailed to São Bernardino Island with a favorable wind and water, and then entered the waters of the Philippine Sea until Manila, which took about 3 months.

The return journey is in July every year. The Manila galleons set out from Cavite Port, cross various reefs and islands in the Philippine Sea, pass through the San Bernardino Strait, sail northwest to the east coast of Japan between 32° and 37° north latitude, cross the Pacific Ocean along the ocean currents and monsoons, reach the California coast, then turn southeast and arrive in Acapulco. It takes about 5-6 months.

Trans-Pacific galleons generally exported silver from Mexico and various commodities from the Eastern world, and the value of the commodities was very mismatched with the value of silver.

The early Spanish colonial government did not impose any restrictions on the size, price, or type of goods. A large number of Chinese goods arrived in Mexico through galleon trade and were then transported to mainland Spain.

The high volume and low prices of Chinese goods harmed the interests of Spanish merchants, particularly those in Seville. They repeatedly appealed to the government, prompting it to introduce policies restricting the galleon trade. Consequently, the Spanish government imposed strict restrictions on the quantity and variety of goods, the forms of transactions with Chinese merchants, and sales methods in Mexico.

Specific restrictive measures include the "licensing" system, the "bulk transaction" system, etc.

The Spanish royal family clearly stipulated that the galleon trade was monopolized by the royal government, and that the total value of goods exported from Manila to Mexico each year should not exceed 25 pesos, while the "goods (silver)" carried by the galleons returning from Mexico should not exceed 50 pesos.

Only two galleons were allowed to sail across the Pacific Ocean carrying cargo each year. The carrying capacity of each galleon was not allowed to exceed 300 tons, and the goods carried were not allowed to be sold to other Spanish colonies outside Mexico. Violators would have their cargo confiscated.

The royal "permission" system gave rise to the "license" system.

This refers to the system of allocating the remaining hold space on a galleon after loading official cargo.

According to the 1593 decree, "licenses" should be distributed to "inhabitants of the Oriental Islands" in proportion to their property, in order to attract more Spaniards to settle in the Philippines and strengthen local colonial power.

"Licenses" could be bought and sold, and their price depended on the price of goods purchased from Chinese merchants through "bulk trade", the expected price of the goods in the Mexican market, the financial readiness of the Manila colonial government, the number of cabins on the galleons, and the number of "licenses" to be sold.

Each "license" was worth a lot of money. If, according to the Spanish government's regulations, each galleon transported 50 pesos of cargo and issued 4000 licenses, the price of each license should be 125 pesos.

However, sometimes a "permit" can be sold for 1500 to 2000 pesos.

Sometimes, because the price is too high, one "license" is split into 3 or 6 parts and sold.

Like the "St. Louis" captured by the time travelers last year, it had a full cargo capacity of more than 400 tons, and the value of the Eastern goods it brought back reached nearly 500,000 pesos, which were divided into hundreds of licenses and then purchased by countless small and medium-sized traders.

As a result, the loss of contact with the "St. Louis" immediately caused many small businessmen with limited financial resources to go bankrupt.

The "bulk trade" system refers to the regulations promulgated by the Spanish mainland government in 1586, requiring the Manila colonial government to sign a bulk trade agreement when trading with merchant ships from China and other countries.

Chinese goods must be sold through bulk transaction contracts and direct transactions between individuals are not allowed.

The Governor-General of the Philippines and the Manila municipal authorities appointed officials to negotiate the prices of goods entering the port with representatives of Chinese merchants and Portuguese-Macau merchants.

The Spanish colonists attempted to use this method to comprehensively control the scale and quantity of trade, limit the quantity of Chinese goods imported, select the types of Chinese goods, lower the prices of Chinese merchants' goods, reduce the outflow of silver, and shorten the period of Chinese merchants' residence in Manila and reduce the number of Chinese merchants in Manila.

Of course, faced with various restrictive policies of the Spanish royal family and the local government, the Manila colonial government and merchants also used various means to break through these restrictions.

For example, Spanish merchants in the Philippines often picked up goods at sea before Chinese merchant ships and Portuguese-Macau merchants arrived in Manila Bay, or secretly transported goods ashore and hid them when merchant ships arrived, or loaded goods after the galleons sailed out of the Philippine waters.

In short, Spanish merchants used various methods to evade the restrictions of "bulk transactions".

If the Spanish home government and the Spanish American colonial government imposed such restrictions and constraints on their own merchants, it would be impossible for foreign merchants to squeeze into the lucrative trans-Pacific trade.

Moreover, Shixing Fort was so weak, and they were a group of Orientals who were deeply despised and feared by the Spaniards, so it was even more impossible for them to get involved in the Spanish trade circle.

If we go ashore rashly, we will probably be eaten to the bone.

So, the only option now is to sail to the coastal areas of Mexico, land secretly, and plunder several port towns to obtain the necessary gold and silver coins.

Only in this way can we go to the Ming Dynasty to recruit immigrants and purchase corresponding production and living materials.

(End of this chapter)