Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 551 The Hunt (Part 1)

From the 16th century onwards, the Spanish Empire amassed enormous quantities of gold, silver, gems, spices, and other valuables from its vast American colonies.

To ensure that these treasures, symbolizing the bloodline of the empire, could safely reach their homeland across the ocean, the Spanish established a complex and rigorous system of escort fleets. This was not only an innovation in maritime history but also the lifeline that sustained the empire's economic lifeline.

In this system, the Gaianes fleet plays a crucial role.

It is not an ordinary transport fleet, but a powerful armed escort force whose core mission is to escort ships returning fully loaded from important ports in Spanish America.

The cargo holds of these ships were piled high with dazzling wealth: silver ingots and coins cast from the Potosí silver mines in Peru, lustrous and rare pearls from Margarita Island, as well as a large quantity of valuable colonial specialties—high-quality cotton, fragrant tobacco leaves, cocoa for making chocolate, sweet cane sugar, tough leather, and precious woods such as Brazilian rosewood for dyeing.

The safe return of these goods to Spain is crucial to maintaining royal revenue and confidence in European financial markets.

The Gaianes fleet followed a very strict rhythm and a predetermined route.

The fleet usually set sail from Seville or Cádiz in Spain, taking advantage of trade winds and ocean currents to cross the Atlantic and enter the perilous yet opportunity-filled Caribbean Sea.

Its primary destinations were several key ports in Spanish America: Cartagena, Venezuela (now Cartagena, Colombia) and Porto Bello (now Porto Bello, Panama).

At these two ports, the fleet would wait and load enormous wealth that had gathered from the depths of the Andes Mountains and the surrounding areas.

After completing loading at Bello Harbor, the fleet would not immediately return to port.

It will continue sailing north towards Havana, Cuba.

There, it will join another important fleet—the New Spain fleet, which came from Veracruz, Mexico, and was loaded with the wealth of the Viceroyalty of New Spain—Mexico's silver, dyes, and wool.

The two massive fleets will merge into an even more spectacular convoy, escorted by elite warships, to cross the North Atlantic and eventually return to Spain.

The smooth operation of this system depends on precise timing.

Typically, between September and October, the Gaianes fleet should have completed its resupply and loading operations in Cartagena, successfully moved to Bello harbor, anchored, and quietly awaited the last, and often the most lucrative, shipment of treasure from the Pacific coast.

The transport fleet, organized by the Viceroyalty of Peru, departed from the port of Callao near Lima, sailed north along the Pacific coast to the port of Panama, and then, by pack animal caravan, crossed the isthmus and was transported to the port of Bello.

However, this year's situation took an unexpected turn.

The entire plan was disrupted, and the carefully arranged schedule became a dead letter.

The reason is simple: the port of Callao has been blocked!

More than ten warships from Xinhua were lingering outside the harbor, like a pack of wolves surrounding a sheepfold, unwilling to leave.

All the gun ports on their sides were open, revealing rows of cold, menacing cannons, forcing ships in the harbor to stay away.

Inside the harbor, cargo ships laden with gold and silver could only sway anxiously with the waves, helplessly stuck in place.

Oh, it's not like I haven't tried it.

More than twenty days ago, the Peruvian fleet attempted to leave port to drive away these uninvited guests, but suffered a humiliating defeat.

Five warships were damaged by fierce and accurate artillery fire, their sails and cables were torn, and their hulls were leaking. They could only drag their wrecked bodies back to the harbor in a sorry state, and only with the protection of the coastal defense forts were they spared from total annihilation.

Although the Xinhua warships are not large in tonnage, mostly only six or seven hundred tons, their hull shape is long and sleek, with smooth lines and exceptional agility, like a group of black sharks in the sea, leaving deadly tracks on the surface of the water.

They were extremely adept at seizing advantageous "T" positions and bombarding the vulnerable bow and stern of the Spanish warships with their fierce broadside salvoes.

The brief but intense exchange lasted only an hour, and the Spanish warships had already been hit by numerous bullets.

One of the unfortunate galleons even had its mainmast broken by a chain shot, causing its side sails to fall with a crash, drastically reducing its speed and immediately attracting a concentrated attack from several Xinhua warships.

If the battle hadn't taken place right on their doorstep, none of the five Spanish warships that went into battle would likely have survived.

After this defeat, the Peruvian fleet was utterly terrified. They raised the white flag and all their warships retreated to the deepest part of the port, close to the coastal defense batteries, refusing to fight again no matter what.

They never imagined that the fighting along the Mexican coast would so quickly spread to the Viceroyalty of Peru, which was considered the rear area.

Even more unexpectedly, the new Chinese had such courage and ability to travel thousands of miles to the port of Callao in the South Pacific and block the treasure fleet, which was about to set sail and carried the hopes of the Kingdom of Spain for a year, right at home.

It all began more than twenty days ago (September 24). That afternoon, thick smoke and beacon fires suddenly rose from San Lorenzo Island, located at the choke point of the port of Callao—a signal indicating that a large, unknown fleet was approaching.

The port of Callao immediately sounded its bells, signaling a state of alert for the entire city.

The sailors of the Peruvian squadron rushed to their battle stations and opened the gun ports. Soldiers at the coastal defense batteries loaded ammunition into the cannons. The militia and residents of the city were also organized and took various weapons to climb the city walls facing the bay.

Everyone assumed that those greedy European pirates had returned.

They planned to plunder the treasure fleet while it was still assembled but had not yet set sail.

It's unclear whether these pirates were English privateers, the West India Company fleet from the Netherlands, or French adventurers.

However, when more than ten warships appeared in Callao Bay, all the Spanish who were on high alert were stunned.

Because they discovered that the other ship's tall masts were flying red five-star flags.

New Chinese!
Aren't they fighting the Viceroyalty of New Spain in the north?

Why does it appear here?

“These despicable infidels are trying to bring the war to Peru!” someone shouted.

Whether out of anger at being provoked, a misplaced confidence in his own strength, or pride in upholding the dignity of the Kingdom of Spain, the commander of the Peruvian fleet made a rash decision in front of all the city's officials and citizens.

They dispatched their five most powerful warships from the port—although there were more than ten ships anchored in the port, most of them were unarmed merchant ships, and most of them were already loaded with gold, silver and goods, about to set sail for Panama—to meet the enemy and repel this audacious Xinhua fleet.

And then... they lost.

It was clear that the Xinhua Fleet had come with ill intentions and possessed considerable strength.

According to reports from Peruvian fleet officers who returned to port, at least five of the attacking Xinhua fleet were professional warships, not hastily converted armed merchant ships.

That's right, they are naval warships specifically designed to hunt down adversaries at sea.

Their ships were longer, had more efficient sails, and were better able to sail against the wind, making them far superior in maneuverability to the cumbersome Spanish galleons.

Even more terrifying was their firepower: the artillery of the new Chinese seemed to be specially designed with an extremely high rate of fire, capable of firing a salvo from the sides every two to three minutes on average during intense battles.

Even with the most skilled gun crews, it would take nearly ten minutes for a Spanish warship to complete an effective counterattack.

This absolute disadvantage in rate of fire meant that the Spanish warships were suppressed by a dense barrage of bullets from bow to stern, struggling to cope and unable to organize an effective attack.

Can't beat it, can't beat it at all.

Not to mention, the Xinhua also had six or seven armed merchant ships. Although their combat power was not as good as professional warships, they could not withstand the enemy's "numerous and powerful" forces. They could only hold on for a while and ended up being completely wiped out.

The Spanish remained hidden in the harbor and did not come out, and the Xinhua Fleet dared not venture in rashly, so the two sides remained deadlocked.

Oh, the new Chinese weren't just sitting idly by the port. After blockading Callao for three days, they turned around and seized San Lorenzo Island, which wasn't far from the port.

San Lorenzo is just a desolate, dry, rocky island.

There is a simple stone lookout post on the mountaintop, where a dozen or so Spanish soldiers belonging to the Viceroyalty of Peru are stationed year-round.

Their daily work involves patrolling the sea level with telescopes day and night.

Once suspicious sails (sails not of the Spanish style or unidentified fleets) are spotted, beacon fires are immediately lit or signal flags are waved to alert the port of Callao.

Although there were a few cannons on the island, their firepower was only enough to deal with one or two pirate ships roaming the island, and was far from enough to threaten an entire fleet.

The new Chinese easily occupied the island, established a temporary camp and water supply point, and then used it as a base to set up a long-term siege of Callao Port.

The intention couldn't be clearer.

This Xinhua fleet is heading straight for the Peruvian treasure ship fleet that is about to set sail!

They likely went to Panama first, and after failing to find the treasure ship coming from the direction of Peru, they headed south and came directly to our door.
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(End of this chapter)