3 December 1724, South Atlantic, St. Helena.

St. Helena's island is located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, covering an area of just over 100 square kilometers, and is an island formed by volcanic eruptions, and the main natural attractions of the island are mountains and meadows, as well as the sunset on the coast and the dolphins that live around the island. The landscape of the whole island is just like its size, it looks simple and unpretentious.

On May 21, 1502, John da Nova, a Portuguese, discovered St. Helena on his way to India. Because May 21 is the feast day of St. Helena Augusta in the Catholic calendar, he named the island St. Helena. Before 1588, no one except the Portuguese knew about the island.

In 1588 the Englishman Captain Thomas Cavendish made a circumnavigation voyage around the world and arrived on the island on his return to England. Soon the island became a port of call for the European sea route to the East Indies.

Around 1645-1651, the Dutch East India Company briefly occupied St. Helena, but did not colonize it, and soon left in favor of the more strategically located Cape Town. In 1659, the British East India Company picked it up, claimed to occupy the island, and began colonizing there, building forts and deploying armed guards.

In 1673, during the Third Anglo-Dutch War, the Dutch captured the island. However, after the war, the island was returned to the British East India Company, and became a very important docking and replenishment base for its ships from Europe to Asia in the Atlantic.

Nearly half of the island's inhabitants were sold into slavery, with a few Irish immigrants, growing potatoes, corn and vegetables, as well as supplying the occasional passing boat. Decades ago, the English also built an observatory on this small island to observe the southern hemisphere starry sky, and also drew a southern hemisphere star map, confirming the accuracy of the star map drawn by the Qi people.

At this time, on the docks of Jamestown Harbor, located at the northwest end of the island, two armed merchant ships: the "Royal Rose" and the "Santoria" were quietly moored. A group of black slaves, driven by the overseer's whip, were laboriously carrying some livestock, poultry, vegetables, and fresh water onto the ship. As for the goods on the ship, of course, they were black slaves from the Angolan region, filled with more than 400 people, and were about to be shipped to Portuguese Brazil, where they were sold to sugar planters.

"Hard, have you heard? The Qi people suffered a defeat in Afghanistan and lost more than a thousand people. Sass Levy, captain of the Royal Rose, gloated: "It is surprising that the Qi people, who claim to be the overlord of the Indian Ocean, would be defeated at the hands of a group of primitive and backward Afghan tribal forces!"

"Levi, should you despise the combat effectiveness of the Qi people because of a small defeat in the Qi country?" The captain of the Santoria, Galil Hader, shook his head slightly and said, "It is said that the Qi army that invaded Afghanistan was not their own army, but a servant army composed of local Indian natives. Their fighting will and combat skills are far from the real Qi army. Deep in the mountainous terrain of Afghanistan, after being raided by tribal forces, defeat was inevitable. ”

"Hader, you seem to be full of deep jealousy towards the Qi people." Saas Levi said: "In my opinion, the people of Qi are nothing more than a little more money in their pockets than we in England, and the ships at sea are a little more advanced than our English ships, oh, of course, their population is also several times more than ours England. However, the final outcome of the war will still be determined by the courage and perseverance of the warriors on both sides, as well as the experience and skill of the battle. ”

"Levy, do you think that the soldiers of the Qi Kingdom lack the courage and perseverance to fight, and their army does not have the corresponding combat experience and skills?" Galil Hade looked at the other party fixedly, "As far as I know, there are only a handful of years in which the Qi Kingdom has not experienced a war for more than 80 years, and their navy and army are either engaged in fierce battles or on their way to one battlefield after another. Their national strength, their advanced warships, and their huge population are all key factors in determining the outcome of a war. ”

"So, you're afraid of facing the challenges of the Qi people?" There was a hint of sarcasm on Sasse Levy's lips.

"Levy, we've known each other for fifteen years, do you think I'm a cowardly and timid person?" Galil Hader asked with a serious expression.

"Oh, please forgive me for my offense." Saas Levy sincerely apologized, "However, I always believe that we in England should not be afraid of war because of our lack of strength. The once mighty kingdom of Spain, the Netherlands with their seas, and the belligerent Louis XIV all fell at our feet. At that time, we were also weak, financially not abundant, and our national strength was greatly inferior, but we were fearless and faced challenges head-on. Now, in the face of the aggressive provocation of the Qi people, we can only have a chance if we give a resolute counterattack. It is true that we may be defeated and will suffer heavy losses, but we will make the arrogant Qi people pay a high price. We want to let them know that the brave and resolute Anglo-Saxon nation is not to be despised and the people of the Lord are not to be blasphemed. In this way, we can gain the respect of our enemies and make them fearful! ”

"Levy, your words make me feel my blood boiling and my desire to fight." Galil Harder smiled and said, "With this generous statement, I think you are more suitable to be Prime Minister of the Cabinet than Sir Walpole (Robert Walpole, the first Prime Minister of Great Britain)." ”

"Haha......" Saas Lévy laughed when he heard this, "dear Hader, inspired by you, I have decided that after making money in the future, I will definitely run for the position of member of Congress and attack the position of Prime Minister of the Cabinet." But the premise is that we can all live well. ”

"God will bless us. Besides, our trip to the coast of Brazil this time should be a place that has not yet been fully covered by the maritime forces of the Qi State, and plundering their merchant ships may not be able to encounter dangerous battles. ”

"I hope so. I heard that in the past two months, the High Court of the Admiralty has issued a total of more than 60 privateer licenses to the merchant ships of the Qi people, all of which seem to be ships operating in the Atlantic waters. This move, in addition to teaching a lesson to the arrogant Qi people and putting some pressure on them, also wants to test their reactions. Do you think the Qi people will also carry out privateering against our English merchant ships in the Indian Ocean region? ”

"They're going to get revenge."

"Since this is the case, then we will teach the people of Qi a good lesson with a more violent blow. The Atlantic, after all, belongs to us Europeans. ”

Since the end of the War of the Spanish Succession, the English government has revoked all wartime privateering permits, and even began to dismantle the Royal Navy, reducing the number of naval personnel from more than 50,000 at its peak to 13,500. As many as 4,000 privateer captains were unemployed, and the ports of England and its colonies were crowded with privateers. Many of the crew became pirates and were forced to continue their raiding activities, trying to use their original privateer licences to cover up their illegal activities, but only targeting England's old enemies, France and Spain.

There were also pirates such as Edward "Blackbeard" Thatch and "Black Baronet-to-be" Baron "Baronet "Barone" Baron "Baron" Roberts, who brazenly attacked merchant ships in all paths. Thus, the end of the war meant rampant piracy and an increase in potential victims. Although the most affected areas were the Caribbean and the Atlantic coast of British North America, the scope of piracy was expanding, and in addition to the somewhat calm Indian Ocean region controlled by the Qi navy, the coasts of West Africa and South America also became areas of piracy.

Although this type of pirate did not have the same large ships as the pirates of the previous century (17th century), their attacks were not limited to the Caribbean or a certain type of enemy, and therefore more destructive to overseas trade. In addition, due to the lack of strong government control in the American colonies, the Atlantic coast became a major area of piracy.

To this end, the English government enacted the Piracy Act in 1715 to combat rampant piracy. The Act characterized piracy as a crime against property and advocated the assignment of pirates to the Americas to be punished with hard labour.

Now, in the face of the intensifying conflict between Qi and Britain, the English government has begun to reactivate a large number of privateers, intending to discourage the Qi people's trade activities in the Atlantic Ocean, and deliberately lead the outbreak of war to their "home turf".

You must know that in the Atlantic waters, they are not only England who have many commercial interests, but also the French, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, and even Danish and Swedish merchant ships sail on the Atlantic sea. Once the sea power of the Qi people intervenes, as long as there is a conflict with any of the above-mentioned European countries, they can push the other party to the side of England and become the enemy of the Qi country.

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(End of chapter)