As the city of Santo Domingo became clearer and clearer, Isabel gladly cast her gaze at the boatswain who was waiting for her, and nodded with a smile, "Brady, this island is almost entirely full of sugar cane plantations. However, it was more about the Spanish fortresses, walls and fortifications that fended off pirates. ”

The island of Puerto Rico, separated by just one Mona Strait, is more like a 16th-century Spanish military fortress than the economically rich and prosperous eastern part of the island. Especially after the island changed its name to "Puerto Rico" (Spanish for "port of abundance") in 1521, the island immediately became an important maritime transit point in the Caribbean.

The Spaniards in the 16th century were more far-sighted when they were able to realize the importance and strategic position of the island of Puerto Rico in the Caribbean Sea. Castles, fortifications, and ramparts were built near San Juan, the capital city on the northeast coast of the island, to defend against invasion and plunder by other European colonists.

These castles, fortifications, and parapets lived up to the expectations of the Spaniards, successfully defending themselves against invasions from France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom for nearly 400 years, maintaining Spanish overseas colonial rule on the island. It was not until after the Spanish-American War in 1898 that it lost control of it.

As the fleet slowly entered the waters outside Santo Domingo, John Hawkins asked Isabel something more, "Captain, does it matter what this island of Puerto Rico is called?" Why did the Spaniards build forts on the island? ”

Isabel felt that John, who had not received a good education since childhood and knew only spoken English and some foreign Chinese words, was unlikely to understand the concept of "strategy." To put it simply, the Spaniards had gained a long-term strategic victory at the expense of some of the sugar benefits of the island of Puerto Rico. This strategic victory allowed the Spaniards to rule the island of Puerto Rico for nearly four centuries.

Glancing at John, who had a look of curiosity and incomprehension on his face, Isabel thought that she could only answer him in the simplest of words. After a moment's thought, he said a few words at him, "John, you can think of the Caribbean as the domain of a very wealthy nobleman. Well, the island of Puerto Rico, located on the border of the territory, was the military fortress of this nobleman. ”

At this time, John no longer seemed to be a navigator, but a studious schoolboy. Tilting his head and thinking about it, he nodded in understanding, "Captain, I understand something. But who would dare to plunder the Spanish Empire now?! ”

"We! We are legitimate raiders. ”

"That's right, Captain, we're legitimate raiders. Could it be that the Spaniards knew in advance that we would be here? ”

Isabel held the fence in her hand and blew the gentle sea breeze, and laughed in a good mood, "John, as long as there is a sea, there will be a ship, and if there is a ship, there will be pirates." ”

At this time, the "Nemesis" led three armed merchant ships into the channel of the Osama River east of Santo Domingo. Relaxed and relaxed, the crew walked along the port side fence, leaning on the fence and curiously admiring this bustling and prosperous Spanish overseas colonial town.

After a while, the fleet turned right and sailed forward along the Osama River, which stretched all the way north. John, who was standing near the port side of the aft lookout, pointed to a huge building on the shore on the left and looked at Isabel beside him, "Captain, that's... The castle of the Spaniards? ”

Isabel looked in the direction he was pointing, and a castle-like building stood on the banks of the river, quietly guarding the waters of the Osama River outside Santo Domingo, vigilantly watching every boat and person with a different purpose who came here. She glanced twice at the building, then at the waterway in front of her, and smiled softly, "John, it's not a castle, it's just a fortress. ”

She was right. In 1502, the city of Santo Domingo was founded here by Columbus's son Diego, the first governor of the New World, and the city became the seat of the Viceroyalty of the New World discovered by Columbus to govern all the Spanish colonies. As the seat of the Viceroyalty, it was necessary to build a fortress with a purely military function to defend the Viceroyalty.

Since it was a viceroyalty governing all the colonies, it was inevitable that the city of Santo Domingo would have been home to a variety of 16th-century European-style palaces and churches. As the son of Christopher Columbus, who discovered the New World of America, the governor's palace of Diego, the first governor of Santo Domingo, naturally had to be as magnificent as a palace. Thus, the palace of Göran, built here from 1510 to 1512, later became the Doge's Palace.

Not only that, but Santo Domingo was also home to the first hospital in the Americas, the Hospital of San Nicolás de Barry, the first hospital in the West Indies to be built of bricks.

There is the Catholic church of Santa Mari Yaramenol, which began construction in 1523 and was not completed until 1541, and contains the urn of Columbus, the father of Governor Diego. What's even more amazing is that the city is also home to one of the oldest universities in the Americas, the University of Santo Domingo.

Eventually, the fleet berthed in a port located near the fortress of Osama. Before the crew could begin repairing the ship, sail cables, and supplies, plantation owners living in and around Santo Domingo flocked to the fleet's merchant ships to negotiate with several captains about the purchase of black slaves.

As Cassiano, a dead enemy, said, the plantation owners of the eastern colonies of Spain had no shortage of valuables such as gold and silver treasures, spices, hides, cane sugar, and ivory, and what they needed most was always the black slaves who brought them a steady stream of wealth.

Among the privateer captains, Isabel was in a very happy mood at this time. Because as soon as the fleet docked, she could immediately go ashore and use her two feet to step on the solid land and relive life on land. However, the gracious invitations of three other captains, including Captain Hawkins, spoiled her mood.

The 300 black slaves who were transported by ship to the port of Santo Domingo were basically the spoils of battle at sea under the personal command of Isabel. And the considerable fortune that Captain Hawkins and the captains of the other two families could get from the sale of black slaves was inseparable from her efforts and generosity.

How could the leader of the fleet not be present to oversee the process of a large bargain that could lead to a huge fortune at a very small cost? Soon after the plantation owners boarded the merchant ships loaded with black slaves, Captain Hawkins and his adjutant maritime officer hurriedly boarded the "Nemesis".