King of German Mercenaries

On April 1, 1498, Da Gama's fleet finally arrived at the port of Mombasa in Kenya, on the east coast of Africa, and made a stop here.

Columbus was too shocked (or frightened) to speak when he looked at the "secrets of navigation" that Marin handed him. Because Marin counted the day when the Da Gama fleet arrived in Mombasa.

Then, Columbus saw the following instructions-don't mind the Da Gama fleet, take advantage of the Da Gama fleet to stop at Mombasa, and head north to Malindi at full speed...

Then, Columbus did as he did. Instead of approaching the port of Mombasa, he took the fleet around Mombasa and headed north. At this point, Columbus's fleet finally stopped tailing Da Gama's fleet, but began to explore its own route...

Da Gama's fleet, however, was greeted coldly by the locals in Mombasa. Because the local chiefs believed that the Portuguese were competitors in their maritime trade, and naturally they would not have a good face.

Of course, the locals knew about the Indian route, but at the behest of the chief, no one revealed the Indian route to Da Gama. After several days of lingering and resting in the area, da Gama had to lift anchor again and sail north with the convoy.

At this time, some people in Da Gama's fleet were still suffering from scurvy. Of course, Da Gama is not clear about the origin and treatment of scurvy. Moreover, these days, scurvy is not uncommon, and I can only admit that I am unlucky...

But what Da Gama didn't know was that when they docked in Mombasa on April 1st, Columbus had already started full sail with his fleet and sailed north along the coast at full speed.

Malindi is only 104 kilometers away from Mombasa. Although Columbus does not know the specific distance, Malin said that it is not far from Mombasa.

Despite the wrong wind direction and constant observation of the situation on land, on April 6, Columbus's fleet arrived at the port of Malindi. Columbus's search method is very simple, that is, sailing along the coast of Africa, when you see a port, you can send a small boat to send an Arabic translator to ask.

In this era, the coastal areas of East Africa were invaded and colonized by Arabs from the Arabian Peninsula. Many small coastal emirates were founded by Arabs or descendants of Arabs. For example, Mombasa and Malindi belong to this nature.

Moreover, the Arabs sold slaves in the east coast of Africa very early and shipped them to all over the world for sale. Not only that, Arabs are much more cruel to blacks than Europeans. Europeans are just more brutal to black slaves, while Arab slave traders directly castrate male black slaves before selling them...

Therefore, in the Arab world, especially in West Asia, although black slaves were used in large numbers, no black slaves left offspring. Because all male slaves were castrated by Arab slave traders, while female slaves and Arab men disdain to violate them. Because Arab men have several wives themselves, and they can't take care of them. How can they have time to violate female slaves?

However, in East Africa, the Arab conquerors did not exterminate the local black people, but also merged with the local people. Therefore, there are many local mulattos. For example, the main ethnic group in Malindi, the Swahili, is the mulatto produced by the Arab conquerors and local blacks. However, local chiefs generally use Arabic as their official language.

When Columbus arrived in Malindi with his convoy, he was not immediately welcomed. At first, the Malindi people were wary of Columbus and his party.

However, Columbus had a "smart plan" given by Marin. After seeing the local officials, Columbus began to translate in Arabic and began to curse the Mombasa people, saying that he was incompatible with the Mombasa people...

Soon, this remark reached the ears of Chief Malindi. After local chief Ali heard that Columbus and the others were enemies of Mombasa, he was very happy. matter.

Seeing this scene, Columbus sighed, and with great admiration for Marin, he began to follow Marin's written instructions and graciously sent 6 bronze Fran cannons to Ali, the chief of Malindi, and sent someone to instruct them how to do it. fire.

Seeing such a weapon of naval warfare, Chief Ali was very happy, and treated Columbus as the most honorable guest, and entertained him with delicious food and drinks every day.

However, Columbus knew, based on Marin's written instructions, that the Da Gama fleet was coming. So he began to slander Ali, the chief of Malindi, according to the instructions, saying that the Portuguese of the Da Gama fleet had formed an alliance with Mombasa and might come to Malindi to spy on the news...

This time, Chief Ali was angry and ordered to go on, as long as he saw the fleet flying the flag of the Portuguese royal family depicted by Columbus, it was forbidden to dock...

After overcasting Da Gama, Columbus proposed to borrow a navigator from Chief Ali to take them to India. At the same time, Columbus vowed that the next time he came to Malindi, he would bring more artillery...

Chief Ali expressed his appreciation for Columbus's initiative to provide naval weapons and artillery, so he recruited the most capable navigator under his command, Ahmed Ibn Majid, and asked him to lead Columbus and his party to take Columbus's fleet to the most powerful navigator in southern India. The busy trading port, Calicut, is where Zheng He landed.

On April 12, Columbus's fleet replenished a batch of fresh water in Malindi, heated the wooden barrels containing the fresh water, and sealed them with mud for loading. At the same time, he also purchased a lot of food that is not easy to spoil.

Then, under Majid's direction, Columbus' fleet embarked on a voyage across the Arabian Sea...

But when Da Gama's fleet arrived on the coast of Malindi on April 14, history changed dramatically-because of Columbus's slander, the Malindi chief believed that Da Gama's fleet was a spy sent by the Mombasa, Malindi's mortal enemy. Thus, the Malindi refused the request of the Da Gama fleet to dock.

In desperation, Da Gama could only continue to sail north along the coast of Africa with the fleet, looking for a stop, and inquiring about the news of India...

And when Da Gama's fleet was still looking for information on the east coast of Africa, Columbus's fleet had already set off from Malindi and headed straight for Calicut.

Along the way, Columbus recorded the captain's log to the west every day, recording the course, as well as the wind direction and hydrological characteristics along the way. As Marin told Columbus before he set off, the Malindi cannot be expected to lead the way. On the next voyage, Columbus would need to lead the voyage himself. So, for the voyages from Malindi to Calicut, Columbus records in great detail.

At the same time, Columbus threw a lot of money to buy Majid, and asked him for various materials in the Arabian Sea. Such as monsoons, natural disasters, and piracy.

Seeing the face of the gold coins, Majid made a detailed answer and presented Columbus with a guidebook for sailing in the Western Indian Ocean written by himself. Columbus, like a treasure, arranged a translator directly on the ship to help him translate it into European languages. At the same time, Columbus also asked Draka, the head of the fleet's trade, to learn Hindi from Majid with the help of a translator, and to understand the local customs and trade habits of India.

During the voyage, Majid was intrigued by the several solar cookers the Columbus fleet carried. Because the solar cooker is too practical for the Arabs.

Whether it is the Arabian Peninsula or North Africa, it is a very dry and sunny place. In these places, practical solar cookers are very convenient. Also, because it is a semi-desert area, there is less firewood. Therefore, the solar cooker is of great significance.

When Majid said he wanted to study solar cookers, Columbus agreed decisively. Majid is an Omani, and the Oman region is on the Arabian Peninsula. It is a semi-desert area with plenty of sunshine. Therefore, Majid obviously wants to bring the solar cooker back to China for use. In this regard, Columbus, who was determined to obtain navigation skills from Majid, naturally could not refuse.

Of course, it is difficult for solar cookers to keep secrets. Because everyone cooks on the Arabian Sea, relying on solar cookers. Moreover, the Arabian Sea is also full of sunshine. Majid is not a dead person. Seeing sailors cooking with solar stoves, why not study it?

However, Columbus's most important secret, the telescope, was not revealed to Majid. Every time he used the telescope, Columbus quietly climbed into the observation room above the captain's cabin, and then took out the telescope and used it. Before Majid, Columbus never used a telescope. After Majid discovered the novelty of the solar cooker, he was very interested, and naturally he didn't pay attention to Columbus's use of the telescope...

In this way, after Mombasa parted, Columbus's fleet and Da Gama's fleet parted ways, and in very different circumstances. Columbus went straight to India, and Da Gama needs to inquire about India everywhere on the east coast of Africa...

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