In December 1606, three sailboats, carrying about 150 men of age or boyhood, set sail from the port of London, England, heading west to the New World of North America. Their main purpose was threefold: to find gold, to stop the Spaniards, and to find a new route to the rich East.

After 144 days of arduous sailing, and at the cost of nearly 40 lives, on May 14, 1607, the fleet sailed into Chesapeake Bay on the eastern coast of central North America, landed on a marshy peninsula in southeastern Virginia, and truly began American history.

For the English, this was their first successful colony in North America, and several previous settlements in expedition mode had failed. According to the king's name, the colonists named the local river that emptied into the Atlantic Ocean the James River, and the settlement was called Jamestown. The entire new colony was called "Virginia", which means "virgin land", in honor of the "virgin king" Elizabeth I, the most virtuous queen in the history of England.

Half of the inhabitants of Jamestown died in the first year of drought and harsh labor; In the cold winter of 1609, many people "died like flies" due to the fact that they offended the local Indians who provided food, and even cannibalism, and hundreds of settlers starved to death until only 60 remained.

The tragic development continued until 1612, when a man named John. Rolf's successful introduction of Caribbean tobacco has only come to an end for the time being. Known as the "green gold," tobacco cultivation allowed Jamestown to prosper and become the capital of the colony of Virginia in its early years.

In the twenties of the 17th century, the population of the colony of Virginia, England, centered on Jamestown, had exceeded 1,200 people, but the expansion of the land for tobacco cultivation also led to strong hostility and struggle among the Indians. The "Bohatan Indian War" of 1622 took Jamestown into heavy losses, destroying most of the settlements, and the increasing Indian warfare in the following decades finally left Jamestown in ruins.

Such a "singable and crying" place has not been praised in the history of American pioneering. Even people avoid it, consciously or unconsciously. If it weren't for a specific history book, I'm afraid most Americans would only know the Mayflower, but not Jamestown. In fact, the Puritans ashore on the Mayflower in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in late 1620, 13 years after the group that settled in Jamestown.

The first settlers to Virginia were almost all money-hungry, and their greed led to not only constant conflicts with the Indians, but also internal fires, and cannibalism during the famine brought the peak of barbaric violence, and the infamous North American slavery began here. It is precisely because of the inglorious history of Jamestown that no good thing can be found that Americans have been ashamed to mention for hundreds of years.

The opposite is true. The Puritans who arrived in Plymouth were idealists fleeing religious persecution, and they came with their families determined to take root in North America and create a "brave new world" with their hands. These settlers, who worked hard and invited the Indians who had helped them to dinner the following year, creating the first Thanksgiving, were clearly a better example for the new people of the United States.

"Jamestown conjures up images of greed, violence, and oppression, like the birthtime of American civilization. And the Mayflower and Plymouth are the true foundation of American spiritual justice. ”

This is probably the true attitude of contemporary Americans towards Jamestown's history.

……

The distant Asian Ming Empire Macau. The Portuguese were already celebrating Christmas once a year, but in the North American colony of Virginia, it was Christmas Eve on December 24, 1628, due to the time difference.

It has been a full 6 years since the tragic Baohatan War. After many Indian conflicts, extreme cold, droughts, and epidemics, the colonial population of Jamestown, along with the surrounding productive settlements, unexpectedly increased to more than 2,000 people. Fundamentally. Butterfly wings from hundreds of nautical miles to the north have allowed this English colonial town to develop rapidly and unconventionally.

On the muddy banks of the river after the snow, there are patches of simple houses of different heights. Smoke curls from cooking, men and women wrapped in tattered fur or cotton robes walk hurriedly, and livestock manure mixed with snow residue and sludge is trampled into various shapes and frozen on the side of the road. A wooden fence reinforced with stone envelopes the estuary town, which was inhabited by nearly 1,000 English immigrants.

Snowflakes flew, and a steam merchant ship emitting black smoke and making a "sudden" sound appeared at the mouth of the James River, and nearly 100 English men and women on the wharf of the river harbor showed excited expressions one by one. The men began to move, while the women drew crosses on their chests, as if Santa Claus was about to arrive early at this twilight.

Guided by an English fishing boat, the new Huamei offshore inland river general steam merchant ship slowly approached the dock. On the shore, an old man in a missionary's robe gave up his honorable pastor and greeted him with a smile on his face.

"God bless you and welcome, distinguished guests!" The old English priest raised his broken cane, and the crowd behind him cheered.

"This ...... This cold winter in England is not good again, right? I remember when I came last year, I didn't see it so miserable. A Chinese merchant wrapped in a fine cotton garment shrugged his head and stepped off the board, and as far as he could see, all the Englishmen who had come to greet the unloading were like Hanako.

"Mr. Qian, if you have been more diligent in the past two years, you may feel that their lives are changing dramatically, and they are much happier than before!" The European captain walked up to the Governor of England with a pipe in his mouth and a grin, acting as a temporary interpreter for the deal.

“…… Oh yes, I hope you can make it clear to that gentleman, God witness, that we have enough goods to exchange for the goods you have brought! The old English priest secretly looked at the gorgeous merchant not far away, and pointed to the town awkwardly, "Your Excellency the Governor is not in good health, otherwise he would have come to meet you in person." ”

Governor of Virginia? Well, at the moment this proud English knight would not appear in front of a gorgeous merchant with a sense of superiority in such a situation, and the pale explanation of the old priest kept the European captain who had emigrated to China for many years not to break it.

Maybe the Chinese businessman couldn't stand the stench of the local wind and snow, or the biting cold of the exposure, so he just entrusted the transaction to a few followers. and retracted back into the boat.

Bags of potatoes, corn and wheat flour were brought off the boat, the crowd let out cheerful cheers, and the miraculous "yellow powder" (berberine) sealed in small glass bottles made the hands of the old English priest in charge of counting the goods tremble with excitement.

This precious drug, it can be said that in the past few years, I don't know how many immigrants in the Virginia colony have been saved, in the past, a single epidemic diarrhea could take dozens or hundreds of lives, but now it can basically control the disease in a day or two.

Several large boxes of cargo were carried off the ship, and when the lid of the box was opened, there were hundreds of shiny 21B flintlock pistols lying inside, and the old priest very solemnly beckoned the captain of the Jamestown militia, who had been waiting for a long time, to his side. Carefully spread the branches.

The Indian wars started by the Jamestown themselves can now be resisted only by the arms sold by the Huamei. Armed with these weapons, which had gained fame in Europe, the threat posed by the hostile Indian tribes, led by the Bahatans, was finally greatly reduced.

Immediately afterward, a large number of winter ready-to-wear, lamp oil, candles, soap, iron farming tools and even a few baskets of fresh fruits and vegetables unimaginable in the cold winter appeared in front of the people, and the Jamestown residents gathered around the docks cheered.

"It's really some dirt buns...... Qian surnamed Huashang, who was huddled in the cabin to keep warm, saw this scene of "calling Huazi for the festival" through the porthole, and finally couldn't help muttering.

Qian Laosan was an old national who immigrated to Shuangwan City on the beautiful Bermuda Island in 1623. Before moving to the Ming coast, he was a small smuggled salt dealer, but now he is the head of business at the famous Ming Hing Trading Company on the island of Bermuda. He even received a small share of the company's share award because of his hard work, and he was able to share dividends of hundreds of dollars every year.

The big boss Zhao Mingchuan has already gone to Daming with the expeditionary fleet, and now the business operation of the entire company is in charge of a business backbone like Qian Laosan, which can be described as a heavy burden. The future is bright.

"Mr. Qian, they can only pay one-tenth of the cash, I'm afraid we will have to accept their goods to offset it." A young European attendant slipped into the cabin and reported the transaction information respectfully. "But they don't have much tobacco stock now, and hopefully we'll be able to accept the trade in timber, fur and iron ore."

"The valuable goods have been eaten up by those big families in the capital? Alas, if only the ship had been built earlier. You don't have to change these cheap goods...... Anyway, sue them and close the deal according to the price of the goods plus 10%. If you don't have enough things, you can ask them to write a note to keep an account, and let them leave us more tobacco and fur next year, and let's pick it up early! By the way, I almost forgot, here's a letter from Mayor Di to the governor of Rauschzi, and give it to them. ”

Qian Laosan pulled the abacus a few times, thinking that he still made a lot of money this time, but he still secretly slandered those wealthy peers from Manchester City.

Do these England Xiyi dare to pay their debts? Give them a hundred guts to try! Our American warships are not vegetarians! Qian Laosan took out a cigarette and smoked it leisurely, while still thinking about waiting for Zhao Da's shopkeeper to come back, seeing his business report with outstanding achievements, he didn't know if he could add another rich reward to himself.

……

Between 1607 and 1623, more than 4,800 of the more than 6,000 immigrants obtained by Jamestown died in the harsh natural environment, disease, war, and famine, with famine and disease being the largest causes of death. Virginia was confiscated as a crown colony by the English crown after the Bohatan Indian War, which nearly lost the entire colony of Virginia, but as England sank deeper into the Thirty Years' War in Europe, Jamestown's ties to his home country became increasingly shaky.

As a result, Bermuda, the "next-door neighbor" 500 nautical miles away, has become Jamestown's biggest external dependence.

To be precise, the real large-scale trade between the English colony of Virginia and the island of Bermuda in China and the United States of America began in 1625. Compared to the ocean-going trade that takes almost half a year to make a round trip to Europe, trading with the island of Bermuda in China and the United States is the safest and quickest. Jamestown's small brigs and dloops always took the trouble to tow their hard-earned "souvenirs" to the "boundless wealth and luxury" of the American ports hundreds of nautical miles away in exchange for the scarce goods that sustained them.

From about 1627 onwards, it seems that Jamestown was too inefficient in its trading and transportation, and the merchant ships of the Sino-American Bermuda trading company began to gradually pass and fro Jamestown. The proactive attitude of peaceful trade with a single merchant ship carrying hundreds of tons of supplies made the people of Jamestown rejoice after an initial period of tension.

Jamestown used tobacco, timber, iron ore, peat, and furs as its main exports, in exchange for Chinese and American goods such as iron, glass, lamp oil, grain, garments, and medicines, of which garments, food, and medicines were the greatest needs of Jamestown.

Although the quality of the tobacco is not necessarily comparable to that of the Spaniards, and the transaction price is not as exaggerated as in Europe, it is better to be safe and timely. The price of 1 shilling (50 cents) per pound of tobacco was barely acceptable, and in 1628 more than 50,000 pounds of Virginia tobacco were shipped to Huamei, becoming the backbone of the economy of the entire Virginia colony.

In addition to tobacco, the high-quality open-pit iron ore found in the lower reaches of the James River estuary has also become an important export for Jamestown. This kind of iron ore can reach an average grade of more than 50% with little to no selection, but there is no local capacity for large-scale smelting. As a result, from 1626 onwards, nearly 10,000 tons of iron ore were exported to China and the United States every year. Although the purchase price of 1 ton of high-quality iron ore is only 1 pound, the Governor of England in Virginia naturally wants this kind of "dig it out and trade" business.

A few years later, Virginia is now heavily dependent on trade with Bermuda's Twin Bay City, and has almost become a "vassal" of China and the United States. Although Jamestown is still very poor, the two demons of famine and disease are gradually fading away. It's hard to imagine what would have become of Jamestown if it had lost its ties with China and the United States.

Before leaving, the Chinese businessman sent a letter saying that the Shuangwan City Hospital in Bermuda, Huamei would launch a "free medical clinic" for Jamestown in a few months, and all patients in Jamestown would be treated free of charge by the Huamei medical team. In addition, Governor George was invited to visit Wèn in Double Bay to establish a better prospect of "mutual assistance and cooperation" between Jamestown and Double Bay.

As soon as he heard the news, Governor George, who was hustering in the Governor's Palace, unwilling to come out and be embarrassed, almost jumped up. I remembered that half a year ago, one of my subordinates went to Bermuda to buy food, but halfway through it got a big pustule (wound infection), and was put in Europe to be sent to death, but he was easily cured on Bermuda Island like shit luck.

As for the invitation to visit the city of Twin Bays, it would be even better, Governor George has always been shy about hoping for the support of the other side, and now isn't the opportunity coming? It seems that this year's Christmas is indeed lucky!

However, what Governor George did not expect was that the so-called Huamei free medical service team after the beginning of spring next year was just a graduation internship for the first batch of medical graduates of the medical school affiliated to the National Hospital in Manchester City, because only in the "bad country" like Jamestown can more incurable diseases be exposed...... If this truth had been known to Governor George, I don't know what his expression would have been. (To be continued......)